Ho Chi Minh City Department of Finance signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with crypto exchange Binance on Wednesday at the Autumn Economic Forum event.

In the presence of Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính, municipal officials, and representatives of the World Economic Forum, Binance agreed to support the creation and long-term development of Vietnam’s International Financial Center in the southern metropolis.

The Department of Finance has been assigned by the city’s People’s Committee to coordinate and implement policies establishing the international financial center. Ho Chi Minh City is one of two approved locations for Vietnam’s IFC initiative, earmarked as the regional destination for industry, finance, and technology.

Binance and Ho Chi Minh Department of Finance sign MoU to promote crypto

Under the MoU, Binance and the department will cooperate in four prongs, with the first introducing investors, financial institutions, and global funds to the city’s upcoming International Financial Centre. 

The second pillar will see the crypto exchange providing insight into the development of legal frameworks for virtual assets, blockchain-based services, and digital token-based payment systems. 

For the third area of cooperation, both entities will support a controlled testing environment for digital asset projects. The two sides plan to contribute to the development of a sandbox once a full legal corridor is approved by the government. Such an environment is expected to help regulators monitor new business models and give a safe room to innovators’ experiments.

The MoU finally mentions support for start-ups and small businesses that use blockchain, financial technology, or digital tools. Binance promised to work together with the department on compliance guidelines and consulting on digital assets, artificial intelligence, and blockchain applications.

Both parties will establish a joint working group to develop action plans and monitor implementation, which is slated to meet at least twice each year, either physically or online, to weigh the project’s progress.

Moreover, there will also be capacity-building programs for regulatory agencies, including workshops, expert exchanges, and technical consultations. The collaboration may extend to co-hosting promotional events in Ho Chi Minh City or international markets to attract investors and financial institutions to the IFC project.

Once the official operating agency for the IFC-HCMC is created, responsibility for the MoU will be transferred to the new regulatory body, the city’s department said.

Vietnam, Singapore discuss Southeast Asia’s digital economy

On Tuesday, the Vietnam E-commerce and Digital Economy Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade signed an MoU with Shopee Co., Ltd. to expand cooperation in cross-border e-commerce and support Vietnam’s online export sector.

Speaking at the ceremony held at Binance’s Singapore headquarters, Lai Viet Anh, a deputy director at the signing agency, said Southeast Asia is one of the most active digital markets in the world due to strong consumer demand and mass adoption of online services.

Anh cited figures from the e-Conomy SEA 2024 report, which recorded a 14% uptick in ASEAN’s e-commerce revenue at $159 billion in the last year, while Vietnam contributed $22 billion, up 18% from 2024.

Anh linked these outcomes to the government’s long-term commitment to digital development. She noted that Vietnam has issued national master plans for e-commerce every five years since 2006, including the latest roadmap for 2026–2030. 

Binance wallet introduces on-chain stock trading

Beyond its partnership with Ho Chi Minh City, Binance has launched on-chain stock trading within its wallet app by adding a new “Stocks” section within the “Markets” tab.

To access the tokenized stocks, users can tap “Markets” and select “Stock” to see some of the available options, which include Amber, Reddit, DoorDash, among others. Binance said in its recent announcement on X that the on-chain stock transactions carry fees of “as low as 0%.” 

Earlier today, the exchange issued a notice that several spot trading pairs will be removed on November 28 at 03:00 UTC. The affected pairs are BMT/FDUSD, GMT/BTC, ME/BTC, and TOWNS/FDUSD.

Binance said the delisting of individual pairs does not affect the availability of the underlying tokens, which will still be tradable against other supported pairs on the platform. 

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