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The 2026 Autumn Economic Forum is scheduled to take place in the southern city on October 26-29.

Ho Chi Minh City plans to announce 12 new investment projects with a combined registered capital of more than $13 billion at the Autumn Economic Forum 2026, scheduled for October 26–29, according to an announcement made by Mr. Le Truong Duy, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (HCMC C4IR), at a press briefing on October 20.

The projects span logistics, energy, infrastructure and related industries.

The forum is themed “The Spirit of Cooperation in a New Era” and positioned around “The Convergence of New Global Growth Poles”. It is expected to attract more than 1,500 domestic and international delegates.

The event will focus on policy dialogue, investment connections, technology and innovation, as the city seeks new growth drivers and aims to attract greater international capital flows.

The forum will begin on October 26 with the CEO 500 Conference, themed “The Convergence of FDI, Technology and Global Financial Flows”. More than 500 business leaders from Vietnam and overseas are expected to attend. Discussions will examine shifts in international investment flows driven by technological advances and the restructuring of global supply chains.

The main forum activities will take place on October 27–28 under a co-branded cooperation framework with the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Alongside investment networking, the forum is scheduled to announce 10 new members of the Vietnam International Financial Centre in Ho Chi Minh City (VIFC-HCMC) on October 28.

Credit growth across Vietnam’s banking system eased from 11.59% at the end of September to 11.44% as of October 14, indicating that lending momentum has stalled and even edged down in the short term.

Meanwhile, the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) continues to urge banks to cut both deposit and lending rates.

Credit growth sees short-term reversal

According to information released by SBV Governor Pham Duc An at a meeting on Monday, outstanding credit to the economy reached VND20,720 trillion ($800.73 billion) as of October 14, up 11.44% from the end of 2025 and 16.73% year-on-year.

The figure was lower than the 11.59% credit growth previously reported by the SBV. Earlier in October, the central bank said system-wide outstanding credit had reached around VND20,750 trillion ($801.89 billion) as of September 30, up 11.59% from the end of 2025 and 16.69% year-on-year.

This means credit growth since the beginning of the year had fallen by around 0.15 percentage points in just the first half of October.

The development is noteworthy as Vietnam pursues an ambitious economic growth target, which is expected to drive strong demand for capital for production, business activities and investment.

Alongside the credit slowdown, pressure to cut interest rates is mounting. On October 19, the SBV held a meeting with credit institutions chaired by Governor Pham Duc An, following the issuance of Official Letter No. 9608/NHNN-CSTT on measures concerning credit institutions’ operations.

At the meeting, the governor stressed that banks must simultaneously cut operating costs, share profits and reduce funding costs to deliver meaningful lending-rate reductions. Deposit rates are a key component of funding costs; if banks continue to raise them, their room to lower lending rates will be limited.

Under the SBV’s requirements, credit institutions must initially cut listed deposit rates by at least 0.5 percentage points per year for maturities of six months or longer. They must also avoid competing to raise deposit rates in ways that create unfair competition and destabilize the money market. At the same time, banks must introduce measures to cut lending rates by 1.5-2 percentage points per year for production, business activities and priority sectors.

Notably, rate cuts are not intended to be applied uniformly. Banks must target the appropriate borrowers and extend reductions to both existing loans and new lending. The SBV also requires tighter control over credit flowing into potentially risky sectors and warns banks against lowering lending standards to pursue credit growth.

The latest directive follows several rounds of calls for lower interest rates since the beginning of the year. It also signals that regulators want to translate general instructions into more concrete action on both the funding and lending sides.

SBV has called for rate cuts six times

Since the beginning of 2026, the government and the SBV have repeatedly urged the banking system to lower interest rates. Key milestones include Directive 01/CT-NHNN issued early in the year; a meeting with 46 commercial banks on April 9; corrective and follow-up directives in May; further instructions on interest-rate support and credit in subsequent months; and the latest call on October 18. In total, the SBV has called on banks to cut interest rates six times this year.

Following the latest directive, the market has seen concrete responses in both deposit and lending rates. Among state-owned commercial banks, BIDV has launched a short-term dong lending program with rates starting at 6% per year, up to 2 percentage points below its usual rates, depending on loan maturity and sector.

Vietcombank has pledged to cut lending rates by at least 2 percentage points per year from now until the end of the year.

Agribank also launched a program on October 19 to cut lending rates by up to 2 percentage points per year, with around VND2 trillion ($77.27 million) earmarked to support customers.

Among joint-stock commercial banks, LPBank and VietBank were among the first to adjust their listed deposit rates on Monday.

LPBank cut rates by 0.5 percentage points per year for maturities of six to 12 months and by 0.6 percentage points for maturities of 13 to 18 months. Notably, it also reduced rates by 1.6-2 percentage points per year on newly disbursed short-term loans for production and business activities.

VietBank cut deposit rates by 0.5 percentage points per year for maturities of six to 36 months.

The market has also reported that ACB would adjust its deposit rate schedule from Tuesday. The specific reductions should be checked against the bank’s official rate schedule before publication.

These moves suggest that regulatory instructions are beginning to translate into concrete programs. However, the maximum reductions announced under individual programs do not mean that all customers will receive equivalent cuts in their borrowing rates.

Assessing the outlook for the remainder of 2026, brokerage VNDirect said interest rates were likely to remain relatively stable through the end of the year, with more pronounced declines from early 2027 as external pressures ease. The forecast reflects constraints from inflationary pressures, strong demand for capital and the possibility of further U.S. interest-rate increases.

Funding pressures are also making rate cuts difficult to implement evenly across the banking system. According to Bao Viet Securities (BVSC), deposit growth remains below credit growth, continuing to put pressure on banks’ funding. As a result, the SBV’s rate-cut directives may first affect preferential lending programs and listed deposit rates. For borrowing costs to decline sustainably across the broader market, however, banks will still need to improve deposit mobilization and liquidity management.

During their meeting in Copenhagen on October 19 (local time), General Secretary and President To Lam and King Frederik X highlighted the expansion of bilateral economic, trade and investment cooperation.

General Secretary and President To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly met with King Frederik X and Queen Mary in Copenhagen on October 19 (local time), as part of their state visit to Denmark.

The top Vietnamese leader was quoted by the Vietnam News Agency as stating at the meeting that Vietnam attaches importance to and wants to further deepen its traditional friendship and multifaceted cooperation with Denmark, one of its key partners in Northern Europe and Europe as a whole.

King Frederik X warmly welcomed the General Secretary and President and his spouse on their state visit to Denmark, noting that it coincides with the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries (1971–2026) and marks an important milestone in their friendship and cooperation. The King shared fond memories of Vietnam and its people from his visits in 2009, 2011 and 2022, highlighting the Danish Royal Family’s special bond with the country, including the cherished memories of living in Hanoi of late Prince Henrik – his father, the news agency reported.

Congratulating Denmark on its development achievements, General Secretary and President Lam praised the country’s efforts to build a prosperous and modern society with a high quality of life, and take the lead in green development, innovation and social welfare. He expressed his confidence that, under King Frederik X’s reign and with the efforts of the Government and people, Denmark will continue to prosper and strengthen its important role and standing in Europe and the world.

He spoke highly of Denmark’s valuable support since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations in 1971 as well as in Vietnam’s post-war reconstruction, national development, Doi moi (Renewal), international integration and ongoing green transition.

Both leaders welcomed the positive development of the bilateral relations, particularly since the establishment of the Comprehensive Partnership in 2013 and the Green Strategic Partnership in 2023. Economic, trade and investment cooperation has continued to expand, with Danish companies such as LEGO, Pandora and Carlsberg operating and expanding their business in Vietnam, contributing to socio-economic development, job creation, technology transfer and sustainable green growth.

The Vietnamese leader highlighted King Frederik X’s significant contributions to the bilateral ties, noting that the King’s visit to Vietnam in 2011 as Crown Prince, marking the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations, and his visit in 2022 with then Crown Princess Mary helped advance the bilateral ties and paved the way for the Green Strategic Partnership established in 2023.

King Frederik X shared General Secretary and President Lam’s views on leveraging the two countries’ complementary strengths and expanding cooperation in trade, investment, science and technology, innovation, energy transition, green and marine economy, education and training, and people-to-people exchanges. The Vietnamese leader expressed his hope that the King will continue encouraging Danish businesses and organizations to strengthen cooperation and investment in the Southeast Asian country.

The two sides noted that, beyond practical cooperation, the bilateral ties are underpinned by friendship, trust and close people-to-people connections built over generations. General Secretary and President Lam praised the Danish Royal Family’s role in promoting cultural and artistic exchanges and people-to-people links, expressing his wish that both countries will further nurture these shared values and deepen their friendship.

On this occasion, the General Secretary and President invited King Frederik X and Queen Mary to visit Vietnam soon to witness the country’s remarkable transformation and the further expansion of bilateral relations.

General Secretary and President To Lam and his spouse Ngo Phuong Ly, as well as King Frederik X and Queen Mary expressed their confidence that Vietnam–Denmark friendship and cooperation will grow further, bringing benefits and prosperity to the people of both countries and contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and sustainable development in the regions and the world.