On September 18, the Vietnam International Financial Center in Da Nang City (VIFC-DN) in coordination with the UK Certified Public Accountant Association (ACCA) organized the VIFC-ACCA 2026 Forum with the theme "Legal framework, priority areas, products and investment opportunities at VIFC-DN".
The forum gathers representatives of management agencies, financial institutions, businesses, investors and domestic and international experts, focusing on discussing the legal framework, green finance, ESG, carbon market and sustainable financial products.
Legal framework is "invisible infrastructure
Speaking at the forum, Mr. Ho Ky Minh - Vice Chairman of Da Nang City People's Committee - said that the competitiveness of an international financial center lies not only in preferential policies, but more importantly in trust in the legal framework, market transparency, management quality and the ability to meet the actual needs of investors.
According to city leaders, the legal framework is the most important "invisible infrastructure" of an international financial center.
VIFC-DN therefore aims to build a competitive legal environment, in accordance with international practices, with clear regulations on procedures, capital movement, protection of investor rights, dispute resolution and ensuring policy predictability.
Da Nang also identified a number of areas that can create differentiated advantages, including fund management, asset management, green finance, carbon market, commodity exchanges, financial technology and innovative financial platforms and products.
According to information at the forum, projects in priority areas at VIFC-DN are subject to a corporate income tax rate of 10% for 30 years. Qualified international experts and managers are exempt from personal income tax until the end of 2030 and have a residency period of up to 10 years for themselves and their families.
English is used in the Center's operations; quotas are not applied to foreign workers, and the orientation is to fully apply IFRS and IAS standards in financial statements.
Finding advantages from green capital flows
One of the directions Da Nang places high hopes on is connecting international capital sources with Vietnam's green transformation process.
Ms. Helen Brand OBE - CEO of ACCA said that long-term sustainable development commitments and the ESG agenda are increasingly attractive to international investors. According to her, building unified sustainable development measurement and reporting standards is important for the ability to mobilize capital flows and business development.
Meanwhile, Mr. Kevin Bruce Iwanaga - Senior Advisor on Strategy, VIFC-DN Executive Agency - said that Da Nang has the opportunity to become a "laboratory for Vietnam's future finance".
To do this, VIFC-DN needs to form a roadmap from innovation, testing to commercial deployment; build a fast and transparent legal environment; increase connections with banks, investors, technology partners and develop digital infrastructure.
