Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, Mr. Nguyễn Văn Được, has recently submitted a formal report to Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chính regarding the proposed reception and facilitation of a hyperscale data center project.
According to the report, the city has received an investment proposal for a hyperscale data center dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud infrastructure, with a total estimated investment of approximately USD 2 billion. The proposal comes from a consortium of major investors, including G42 Technology JSC (whose key shareholders are the UAE sovereign wealth fund and Microsoft Corporation), FPT Corporation, VinaCapital, and Viet Thai Investment Group.
The project is envisioned as a comprehensive AI infrastructure solution, offering advanced cloud services for clients across Asia and globally. It is specifically designed to operate as an AI Factory, delivering large-scale AI processing and data infrastructure capabilities.
This is considered a strategic project with far-reaching socio-economic impacts on Ho Chi Minh City. It is expected to contribute significantly to the city's GDP growth, enhance its appeal to foreign investors, and generate thousands of high-quality jobs, thereby helping to cultivate a strong pool of IT and data professionals for the city.
However, the People's Committee has noted that investors are currently facing certain legal and regulatory challenges. As such, the city has formally requested that the Prime Minister consider resolving two critical areas of concern.
Proposed special mechanism: The project aims to serve not only Vietnam but also the world, with the goal of developing Ho Chi Minh City into a leading technology business center in Asia. However, the lack of synchronization between domestic and international legal frameworks – especially some regulations on data – can create barriers and risks for the project's international customers. This also limits the ability to expand due to dependence on the global data system and data monitoring and retrieval processes in Vietnam.
This situation may cause investors to consider shifting to countries that allow cross-border data storage. Therefore, Ho Chi Minh City proposed that the Prime Minister consider allowing the application of a special mechanism for projects with international business models, similar to the policy currently implemented by Singapore.
Proposal to prioritize cloud computing infrastructure over on-premise infrastructure: Ho Chi Minh City proposed that the Prime Minister consider issuing a policy to prioritize the use of cloud computing infrastructure over on-premise IT infrastructure, in order to improve security and synchronize national security standards. At the same time, this proposal will contribute to promoting the effective implementation of Decision No. 1121/QD-TTg dated June 11, 2025 of the Prime Minister on the National Action Program for the development and transition to the use of cloud computing platforms in the period 2025 - 2030.
With the above contents, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee proposed a working session with the Prime Minister and investors to present in detail the difficulties and propose solutions to remove obstacles for investors.
Source: Laodong.vn