The State Bank of Vietnam held a working meeting with a United Kingdom delegation led by British Consul General Alex Smith, focusing on cooperation to develop Vietnam’s planned international financial centre and related priorities including green finance and digital trade finance infrastructure. The exchange drew on Kazakhstan’s Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) experience, with Astana Financial Services Authority chair Angela Knight highlighting the importance of early strategic clarity and a fit-for-purpose legal framework, including the use of common law, English language and alignment with international standards such as Basel and Financial Action Task Force recommendations. The discussion also covered governance arrangements, including an independent financial services regulator with close coordination with the central bank, and a specialised banking model oriented toward international payments, foreign exchange and capital markets rather than traditional retail banking. The State Bank of Vietnam referenced its work leading the development of a decree setting rules for licensing and oversight of banking and foreign exchange activities and anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing within the international financial centre framework. On green finance, the UK side outlined UK PACT support for developing a legal framework for green and sustainable financial services in the international financial centre, drawing on practices from centres including ADGM, DIFC and AIFC. The meeting also covered plans for a trade finance data platform intended to increase transparency, detect fraud and reduce costs, with the State Bank of Vietnam noting legal issues requiring careful assessment, including cross-border data handling, personal data protection, electronic signature disputes and cybersecurity.

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