The Role of the International Financial Center in Transforming Vietnam's Growth Model

Vietnam’s target of average annual GDP growth of at least 10% during 2026–2030 requires a transition from a growth model based on expanding inputs to one centered on efficiently allocating and transforming resources into productivity, value added, and competitiveness. Establishing an International Financial Center (IFC) provides opportunities to mobilize long-term capital, develop modern financial instruments, and improve capital allocation. This study employs a literature review, policy analysis, and conceptual framework development, integrating National Transformational Capacity (NTC) theory, multi-stakeholder collaboration, and the enterprise financing ecosystem across the business life cycle from idea formation to an initial public offering (IPO). It proposes a framework linking capital mobilization, resource allocation, stakeholder collaboration, and technological absorptive capacity to explain how financing translates into productivity and domestic value added. The analysis suggests that the IFC’s development impact depends not only on the volume of capital mobilized or the number of participating institutions, but also on its ability to establish a continuous financing ecosystem suited to firms at different stages, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The paper recommends strengthening financial institutions, developing intermediaries, diversifying financing instruments, expanding supply-chain finance, improving data capabilities, and adopting outcome-based measures of capital transformation to support high and sustainable growth.