Where foreign capital flows in
At the recent forum "Exploiting the US investment strength in the Central region - Vietnam" organized by the Da Nang Young Entrepreneurs Association in collaboration with the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AmCham Vietnam), Mr. Richard Mclellan - Founder and CEO of RMAC Advisory, LLC - said that the Central region can become a bright spot in energy and financial development if it knows how to take advantage of opportunities from US capital flows.
According to Mr. Richard Mclellan, the Free Trade Zone, the International Financial Center, the development of Lien Chieu seaport... are valuable commitments from the Da Nang City government. The unit is willing to bet on innovative investment opportunities here and expects the legal and financial framework to be improved so that foreign enterprises can confidently invest.
Not only valuing investing in hard infrastructure but also aiming to develop "soft infrastructure" as human resources, Mr. Le Quang Dam - General Director of Marvell Technology Vietnam also highly appreciated the rapid development of Da Nang City and emphasized the role of education in a relatively new field in Vietnam, the semiconductor industry.
Danang University, as a key regional university, has a golden opportunity to cooperate with global corporations to develop in-depth semiconductor engineering training programs, this is not only an investment in education but also an investment in the future of the Central economy.
"Vietnamese students are excellent in science and technology but lack in-depth expertise in semiconductors. We are cooperating closely with universities to build special training programs, support students in difficulty with potential, and develop specialized laboratories" - Mr. Dam said.
Statistics from Savills Vietnam Real Estate Service Group in the first half of 2025 show that the Central region recorded 20 foreign-invested industrial production and processing projects licensed, spanning many localities. Notably, these investors are not only from Asia such as Singapore, Japan... but also expanding to American and European businesses, demonstrating diversification and increasing confidence in the region.
Coming to the Capital of Central Startups
According to the report " Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2025" published by the StartupBlink Global Startup Ecosystem Mapping and Research Center, Vietnam has increased by one level, rising to 55th place on the global ranking. In Southeast Asia, Vietnam maintained 5th place, while also ranking 11th in the Asia-Pacific region. In particular, Vietnam has risen to 28th place globally in the number of startups, showing a rapid increase in the scale and excitement of the startup community.
At the opening ceremony of the Da Nang Innovation and Startup Festival - SURF 2025, Mr. Ho Quang Buu - Vice Chairman of the Da Nang People's Committee - emphasized that the city clearly identifies innovation and science and technology as the core driving force for rapid and sustainable growth. This spirit is also concretized in Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo on the development of science, technology, innovation and digital transformation.
Mr. Ho Quang Buu said that Da Nang has been synchronously implementing many specific mechanisms, policies and actions to develop the creative startup ecosystem. Accordingly, there is a policy of tax exemption and reduction for startups, support for shared working spaces, and technology nursery. At the same time, connect investors, support testing of new products, build research and innovation centers.
In particular, Da Nang City promotes the establishment of a Free Trade Zone and an International Financial Center, contributing to attracting legal services, accounting, auditing, financial technology and domestic and foreign adventure investment... creating the most favorable conditions for businesses to develop.
Also at this event, Mr. Hoang Minh - Deputy Minister of Science and Technology - informed that innovative startups are no longer a trend but have become an inevitable driving force to improve productivity, quality and national competitiveness, a solution to the problem of rapid and sustainable development. Vietnam's innovative startup ecosystem is developing strongly, diversely and deeply, with many growth areas such as Fintech, AI, Edtech, Healthtech and circular economy.
According to Mr. Hoang Minh, in recent times, Da Nang City has been on the right track and achieved many results in developing an innovative startup ecosystem, affirming its pioneering role in the Central - Central Highlands region and having a widespread influence across the country.
In particular, Da Nang has effectively implemented policies to support startups, tax exemptions, develop semiconductor microchips and test new technologies according to Resolution 136/2024/QH15 of the National Assembly to develop Da Nang into a modern economic - urban center of the Central and Central Highlands region, this is considered a great opportunity, creating new institutional space to strongly promote science, technology and innovation.
Da Nang is a typical global city for the startup ecosystem
According to the results of the assessment of the 2024 Local Innovation Index, Da Nang ranked 5th in the country and always led the North Central and Central Coast regions. In 2025, Da Nang City will have a remarkable increase in the global typical city ranking for the startup ecosystem according to the StartupBlink Global StartupEcosystem Research and Mapping Center, up 130 places and ranked 766th in the top 1,000 typical global cities.
