The People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City is set to organise the second friendship dialogue and the fifth economic forum with a focus on industrial transformation this September, expecting to welcome a large number of international delegates.

Ho Chi Minh City desires to partner with the World Economic Forum (WEF) to leverage the outcomes of the HCM City Economic Forum for the development of the southern largest economic hub and Vietnam in general, Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Phan Van Mai told WEF Managing Director Jeremy Jurgens.

Becoming a financial hub is key to helping Ho Chi Minh City make economic breakthroughs in the time ahead, and the city pledges to exert every effort to facilitate financial institutions’ investment, a local official said on October 18.

Ho Chi Minh City has great potential for smart-city development but lags far behind other Asian smart cities, according to a study issued by the HCM City-based University of Economics.

Building Ho Chi Minh City into an innovative business hub in the Southeast Asian region will top the agenda of the HCM City Economic Forum to be held in the city on November 23.