Article by Mr. Đinh Hồng Kỳ, published in Doanh Nhân Sài Gòn on November 28, 2025
In the context of a global shift toward clean production models, green supply chains, and low-carbon standards, the only path for Ho Chi Minh City to remain competitive in the coming decade is to attract green investment and restructure its production base toward high-tech industry.
Ho Chi Minh City Leading the Expanded Growth Triangle
As the central hub of the expanded growth triangle, Ho Chi Minh City holds an irreplaceable position. By connecting the Southeast region—the country’s largest industrial and high-tech hub, the Mekong Delta—the leading center of ecological agriculture in Vietnam, and the Central Highlands—an area rich in renewable energy and new material potential, the city is positioned at the center of a regional “green axis.”
Along this axis, Ho Chi Minh City can play the role of coordinating capital, technology, data, and especially high-quality human resources—key factors that determine national competitiveness in the green era.
Over the next decade, regional economic growth will largely depend on three core capabilities: the ability to reduce emissions while restructuring industry, the efficiency of interregional green logistics networks, and the level of innovation and digital transformation. If long-standing bottlenecks in infrastructure and institutions are addressed, Ho Chi Minh City can lead the region’s low-carbon production model and become the foundation for cross-border high-tech value chains.
Green Investment: A New Benchmark for International Capital
ESG has become the “passport” for all projects. Policies such as Europe’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the United States’ Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) share a common objective: supply chains must be clean from raw materials to manufacturing operations and logistics.
Many high-tech corporations have stated that they will only expand investments in locations that simultaneously meet requirements for stable clean energy capacity, low-carbon materials and components, circular industrial infrastructure, and especially transparent institutions with fast approval processes.
This reality cannot be avoided: without going green, Ho Chi Minh City will be left out of the game. On the other hand, if the city moves ahead by building a strong and credible green foundation, it can become a strategic destination for high-value industries such as semiconductors, AI and data, robotics and automation, environmental technology, the hydrogen industry, advanced materials, and the circular economy.
In these sectors, competitive advantage no longer lies in cheap labor but in the quality of green infrastructure and the ability to absorb and deploy next-generation technologies.
To transform Ho Chi Minh City into a leading green investment destination in the region, five strategic pillars must be clearly defined and decisively implemented.
First Pillar: Next-Generation Eco-Industrial Parks
The traditional model of “leasing land and basic infrastructure” is no longer suitable for high-tech investors. Instead, industrial parks must integrate waste heat recovery systems, wastewater recycling, rooftop solar power, energy storage mechanisms, real-time carbon monitoring, and green logistics using clean transport vehicles.
Experiences from Kalundborg in Denmark and Yokohama in Japan have proven that low-carbon industrial parks can significantly reshape FDI attraction.
Second Pillar: A Green Innovation Sandbox
Ho Chi Minh City needs a sandbox mechanism that accepts calculated risks to pioneer new technologies. A regulatory sandbox allows businesses to test green hydrogen, carbon capture and storage technologies, low-emission materials, batteries and energy storage solutions, advanced recycling technologies, and carbon finance models.
Investors need not only incentives but also speed. A flexible sandbox mechanism that shortens approval time from three years to under nine months can be vital for high-tech projects.
Third Pillar: Green Finance
Ho Chi Minh City should take the lead in issuing municipal green bonds, establishing low-interest green credit funds for technology innovation, providing tax incentives for ESG-compliant businesses, and building mechanisms for internal carbon accounting and offsets.
According to World Bank forecasts, the global green finance market could reach USD 10 trillion by 2030. If Ho Chi Minh City moves too slowly, this capital will flow to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, or Jakarta.
Fourth Pillar: Green Supply Chains
Ho Chi Minh City has an advantage in possessing industry, urban areas, and seaports within the same development space. However, to meet the standards of European and American investors, supply chains must be clean from factory to port.
This means the Cat Lai – Cai Mep port cluster must operate with clean energy, nearby logistics systems must transition to electric or hydrogen vehicles, cold storage facilities must upgrade to energy-efficient standards, and all business operations must be connected through integrated carbon data systems.
When this happens, Ho Chi Minh City will not only be a manufacturing location but also become a coordination center for value chains—a position the city has long pursued but has yet to fully achieve.
Fifth Pillar: ESG Human Resources
ESG talent will be a strategic factor for any green growth model. Ho Chi Minh City should establish a center for ESG leadership and green innovation training, providing experts in greenhouse gas inventories, carbon management, ESG reporting, circular economy, and green manufacturing standards.
In the coming decade, ESG professionals will play a role similar to programmers two decades ago—a workforce capable of shaping the competitiveness of the entire city.
Three Strategic Proposals for Ho Chi Minh City
For Ho Chi Minh City to truly break through, three regional-level strategies should be promoted.
First, develop a “Low-Carbon Map” for the Ho Chi Minh City – Binh Duong – Dong Nai – Ba Ria–Vung Tau region. This map would coordinate renewable energy, green logistics, water and waste treatment infrastructure, and specialized industrial zones so that investors can see a complete ecosystem rather than isolated destinations.
Second, reform institutions toward a “Green One-Stop Mechanism” for high-tech projects, targeting approval within 90 days, full digitalization of environmental procedures, and minimizing compliance costs. In next-generation FDI competition, speed is not only an advantage but a survival factor.
Third, establish the Ho Chi Minh City Green Industrial Development Investment Fund, inspired by Singapore’s Temasek and EDBI model, focusing on supporting low-carbon industrial infrastructure, R&D in new materials and energy, and green transformation for businesses.
A Critical Turning Point for the City
Ho Chi Minh City is standing at an important crossroads. If it continues to develop under traditional models, it may fall behind emerging manufacturing hubs in the region. But if it chooses a strategy of green transformation and technological innovation, the city has a real opportunity to join the ranks of ASEAN’s high-tech industrial centers, integrate deeper into the global green supply chain map, attract high-value capital flows, and enhance the capabilities of domestic enterprises.
Attracting green investment is not merely a trend—it is a prerequisite for Ho Chi Minh City to break through in the next development cycle. It is also the moment for the city to reinforce its position—not only as Vietnam’s economic engine, but as a green high-tech industrial hub of Southeast Asia.
The race has begun, and Ho Chi Minh City cannot afford to fall behind. Choosing “green” means choosing the future.
(*) Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Green Business Association (HGBA), Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Business Association (HUBA)
Article link published in Doanh Nhân Sài Gòn: https://doanhnhansaigon.vn/tp-hcm-chuyen-doi-xanh-trong-ky-nguyen-so-thu-hut-dau-tu-xanh-dong-luc-chien-luoc-cho-khat-vong-cong-nghiep-cong-nghe-cao-bai-3-329251.html
