Asset management in Vietnam’s international financial centre is one of six priority sectors named in Decree 323/2025/ND-CP, sitting alongside fintech, green finance, commodities, infrastructure and professional services. For fund managers who have watched Vietnamese growth from a Singapore desk, the question is now whether to run that exposure from inside the country rather than beside it.
Why asset management is a priority sector
Vietnam has the ingredients of a domestic funds industry – a large young population, rising household wealth, a maturing pension conversation and a corporate sector needing equity – but has lacked the vehicle infrastructure to serve it. The centre is the state’s attempt to supply that infrastructure in one perimeter: fund formation, administration, custody, distribution and the professional services around them.
The Ho Chi Minh City financial centre mandate names asset management explicitly within its comprehensive ecosystem, and the synergy language in the decree is the policy intent: a manager should be able to raise, invest, custody and settle inside one regulatory boundary.
What asset management members will actually do
Four business lines dominate early interest. Private equity and venture funds investing in Vietnamese companies, currently structured offshore almost without exception. Real asset funds – industrial property, logistics, renewable energy – where the underlying is Vietnamese and the offshore wrapper adds cost without adding protection. Public market managers building Vietnam and regional equity products. And wealth and family office platforms serving the domestic wealth that has until now been managed abroad or not at all.
Asset management structuring questions to settle early
Five decisions shape every asset management structure here. Where the fund vehicle sits and whether investors will accept a Vietnamese-domiciled vehicle at this stage. Where the manager entity sits, which is the licensing question. Custody arrangements and who is acceptable to institutional investors. The currency and repatriation path for subscriptions and distributions, covered in our IFC foreign exchange guide.
And the tax position across fund, manager and investor, addressed in our tax incentives guide.
The realistic near-term pattern is a hybrid: an offshore fund vehicle familiar to international LPs paired with a licensed manager inside the centre carrying the investment team, the decision-making and the substance. That captures the incentives and the talent facilitation without asking allocators to accept an unfamiliar domicile before the framework has a track record.
Asset management FAQs
Can a foreign manager be licensed?
Yes, through the centre’s membership process under the funds and asset management priority category – see our membership guide. Substance in the form of local investment professionals is what makes the licence and the tax position durable.
How does this compare with running Vietnam exposure from Singapore?
Cost and proximity favour Vietnam; investor familiarity and service-provider depth still favour Singapore. Managers with genuinely Vietnamese theses increasingly conclude that the investment team belongs where the companies are, which is the argument our regional comparison examines.
When should a manager engage?
Before the next fund is structured. Retrofitting a licensed onshore manager into a fund already raised is possible but costly, and the founding-member advantages described in our international financial centre overview favour early movers. Framework texts are published via the Ministry of Finance.
What allocators will ask an onshore asset management platform
Institutional investors assessing a Vietnam-based manager for the first time ask a predictable set of questions, and preparing for them shapes the structure. Who holds the assets, and is the custodian one an investment committee will recognise. How is valuation performed and by whom, particularly for private positions.
What happens to the fund if the manager fails – are there independent directors, and can investors replace the manager. How are conflicts between the manager’s Vietnamese affiliates and the fund managed and disclosed. And what is the audit chain, including whether the auditor is part of an international network.
None of these is unique to Vietnam, but each carries more weight in a jurisdiction without an established track record. Managers who build the answers into the structure at formation raise capital materially faster than those who negotiate them during due diligence.
The corollary for asset management platforms is to over-invest in operational infrastructure relative to what the licence strictly requires. The licence permits the business; the operational architecture is what persuades allocators to fund it.
This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal advice for any specific case. Regulations may change – please consult a qualified professional before acting. Should further analysis be required, please contact one of our lawyers below.
