Ho Chi Minh City ( HCMC ) has partnered with Ant International to advance Vietnam’s digital economy, foster innovation, and support the city’s ambition to become an international financial centre and a regional fintech hub.  

Ant International and the Vietnam Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution ( C4IR Vietnam ), established by the World Economic Forum and the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, have signed a memorandum of understanding to formalize the partnership. The collaboration was announced at the Ho Chi Minh City Economic Forum 2025, officiated by Vietnam’s Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and HCMC People’s Committee chairman Nguyen Van Duoc. 

In his speech, Nguyen says he hopes that cooperation with Ant International would accelerate the city’s progress towards becoming an international financial centre, advance digital transformation, train high-quality talent, and strengthen the country’s position in the global financial system.

He also commends the company’s global leadership in digital payments, digitization, and financial technology, as well as its ecosystem of advanced technology platforms. “We play together and win together,” he adds.

Ant International and C4IR will collaborate across several key areas, including:

• Promoting HCMC as an international finance centre: The two parties will jointly advise the city on regulatory strategies and policy support to attract foreign businesses, promote progressive innovation frameworks, leveraging Ant International’s 6T ( travel, trade, thrive, technology, talent, and trust ) framework to shape future development.
• Enabling strong local innovation: Ant International will support HCMC and local partners in joint innovation initiatives and technology capacity-building to support fintech industry development.
• Globalizing local SMEs: The city will work to enhance the competitiveness of small and medium enterprises in the regional and global economy by adopting cutting-edge, tailored solutions via Ant International’s Alipay+, Antom, Bettr, and WorldFirst.
• Developing next-generation talent: The partners will launch a comprehensive training programme to address skill gaps and mentorship of local startups, in areas such as digital finance, cross-border payments, compliance, and fintech operations, supporting Vietnam’s approach of moving towards an innovation-led economy, and a regional hub for smart economic development and inclusive growth.

“Vietnam is one of the most exciting digital economies in the world today, powered by forward-looking policy, a vibrant start-up ecosystem, and a fast-growing local talent pool,” says Ant International chief executive officer Peng Yang. “Ant International is excited to work with C4IR to advance the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam. We are committed to expanding such public-private partnerships continuously to bring together policy innovation and technology expertise to drive inclusive growth in Vietnam and a much more vibrant and sustainable global digital economy.”