NANNING, CHINA - Media OutReach Newswire - 21 May 2026 - The China-ASEAN Business and Trade Information Platform was officially launched in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Tuesday.
A sub-forum themed international exchange and mutual learning of cyber civilization at the 2026 China Internet Civilization Conference is held in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, May 19, 2026. (Photo: China News Service/Li Taiyuan)
The platform offers comprehensive information services and an international communication platform to support economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN countries.
Built and operated by China News Network, the official website of China News Service, the platform serves as ASEAN trade agencies, industry associations, overseas Chinese communities, and cross-border enterprises, providing one-stop trade information services.
China News Service will leverage its strengths to build the China-ASEAN Business and Trade Information Platform into an influential and dynamic communication channel that promotes information sharing and provides services, to facilitate trade and people-to-people exchanges between China and ASEAN countries.
Currently, a trade information network between China and ASEAN countries has been built, with key content covering policy explanations, market conditions, investment promotion, business cooperation, and industry analysis, to comprehensively support cross-border trade activities.
Prior to the platform's launch, representatives from government departments, media outlets, research institutes, and universities in China and multiple ASEAN countries participated in discussions on economic and trade information exchange between China and ASEAN countries, as well as the development of the platform.
Consular officials from ASEAN member states including Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam, stationed in Nanning expressed their hopes for enhancing China-ASEAN economic and trade connectivity as well as people-to-people ties through information sharing.
Against the backdrop of the signing of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol, the platform serves as an information bridge for expanding cooperation, promoting trade, enhancing industrial upgrade, and achieving mutual benefits and win-win outcomes, they said.
They hope that the platform will play a greater role in trade facilitation and logistics services, empowering micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), and investment policies and regulatory measures, while helping share cooperation stories between China and ASEAN countries.
Hashtag: #Nanning
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HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM - Media OutReach Newswire - 21 May 2026 - Vietnam International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City (VIFC-HCMC), in collaboration with Gemadept Corporation and the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies, today hosted a high-level forum to officially launch the International Maritime Financial Ecosystem (IMFE) — one of the four strategic pillars of VIFC-HCMC.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huu Huan (left), Vice Chairman of VIFC-HCMC, and Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh, General Director of Gemadept Corporation, at the official launch ceremony of the International Maritime Financial Ecosystem (IMFE) in Ho Chi Minh City.
The forum, themed "Developing the International Maritime Financial Ecosystem within the Vietnam International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City," took place at the VIFC-HCMC Building, 08 Nguyen Hue Street, District 1, and drew more than 100 senior delegates. Attendees included leaders from central ministries and agencies, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, representatives from coastal provinces (Da Nang, Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang), domestic and international financial institutions, port and logistics enterprises, and international organisations.
The day's agenda focused on three headline moments: a strategic industry report by Roland Berger, titled "Vietnam Maritime Industry: A Strategic Opportunity for Breakthrough Growth," which benchmarked leading global maritime financial hubs and mapped a roadmap to raise Vietnam's domestic value retention from the current 4–5% to 15% by 2035; the official launch ceremony of the IMFE initiative within VIFC-HCMC; and a memorandum of understanding signed between VIFC-HCMC and Gemadept Corporation, owner and operator of Gemalink International Port in Cai Mep – Thi Vai, formalising Gemadept's role as a founding lead of the initiative. The forum also saw the introduction of the first maritime financial products and initiatives to be developed within the VIFC-HCMC framework.
A seaport system of growing global weight
The ambition behind IMFE is grounded in the rapid rise of southern Vietnam's port infrastructure. Ho Chi Minh City is home to Cat Lai Port — ranked among the world's top 21, handling approximately 7.5 million TEUs annually — and Gemalink International Port in Cai Mep – Thi Vai, capable of receiving ultra-large container vessels. These existing assets are set to be joined by the Can Gio International Transshipment Port, a 571-hectare project with a projected capacity of 17 million TEUs per year, further deepening the city's integration into global logistics and trade networks.
In 2025, the Ho Chi Minh City port system handled over 24 million TEUs, ranking 8th globally according to Lloyd's List, and was associated with approximately USD 200 billion in import-export turnover, accounting for around 20% of Vietnam's total trade value. Surrounding this physical infrastructure, a broad ecosystem of supporting services has expanded significantly, spanning cargo handling, warehousing, freight forwarding, customs clearance, and supply chain management. The total annual trade transaction value flowing through the region — encompassing goods, logistics services, and related financial demand - is estimated at over USD 1 trillion.
The financial gap: billions flowing through offshore centers
However, the scale of this physical activity stands in sharp contrast to the financial value Vietnam currently retains. Despite enormous cargo volumes, most high-value maritime financial services generating the largest profit margin including trade finance, ship financing, marine insurance and reinsurance, international payments, and logistics risk management continue to flow through developed offshore maritime financial centers. Vietnam currently captures only around 4–5% of these financial transaction values domestically, leaving an estimated USD 6–8 billion in potential value accessible but unrealised. To complete the maritime value chain and retain these economic benefits onshore, Vietnam must evolve beyond purely physical cargo transshipment. The gradual development of a comprehensive maritime financial ecosystem is an essential and inevitable strategic step.
IMFE: from vision to institutional launch
Against this backdrop, the IMFE initiative took shape as a core component of VIFC-HCMC, with Gemadept Corporation serving as a founding lead. The initiative was first introduced on September 12, 2025, during the symposium "Ho Chi Minh City – A Modern, High-End, High-Value Service Hub," where Gemadept presented a strategic vision of integrating Vietnam's deep-sea port infrastructure with a dedicated maritime financial ecosystem. To materialise that vision, the corporation cooperates with the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, leading to its official designation as a Strategic Member of VIFC-HCMC on February 11, 2026, at the Center's Launching Ceremony. Today, as the operator of Gemalink — a major deep-sea gateway at Cai Mep – Thi Vai — Gemadept is focused on channeling high-value capital flows and advanced financial services directly into Ho Chi Minh City's real maritime economy.
With this foundation in place, today's forum pursues three concrete objectives: to officially launch the IMFE as a strategic platform designed to localise maritime financial capital and services, laying the groundwork for Ho Chi Minh City to emerge as one of the region's leading maritime hubs; to connect financial institutions, banks, insurance companies, shipping lines, logistics enterprises, and international organisations within an integrated ecosystem, bringing the port-to-finance model to life in Vietnam; and to introduce the first maritime financial products and initiatives, creating mechanisms for Vietnamese enterprises to access financing, insurance, and risk management tools domestically rather than through foreign intermediaries.
"Ports such as Can Gio and Cai Mep-Thi Vai are transshipment hubs for cargo flows — VIFC-HCMC must become the transshipment hub for capital flows serving Vietnam's maritime economy," said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huu Huan, Vice Chairman of VIFC-HCMC.
Hashtag: #VIFC
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