SCIC holds seminar on advancing the SCIC model towards a professional sovereign wealth fund

HANOI, Viet Nam, December 3, 2025 - The State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) organized a seminar titled "Advancing the SCIC model towards professional capital investment, establishing a sovereign wealth fund." The event aimed to further clarify and contribute content regarding state economic development, as well as to provide orientation for SCIC's development strategy in the coming period.

Overview of the seminar

The seminar was honored to welcome Mr. Cao Anh Tuan - Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee, Deputy Minister of Finance. Also in attendance were Mr. Ho Sy Hung - Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI); representatives from the Government Party Committee; the Government Office; the Ministry of Finance; the National Assembly Economic and Financial Committee; the Ministry of Public Security; the Ministry of Justice; the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI); the People's Committees of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City; domestic and foreign financial institutions including representatives from the World Bank (WB) and the Singaporean Government investment firm Temasek; senior domestic and international consultants; major corporations and general corporations with state capital; and representatives from enterprises with SCIC capital, along with news agencies and the press.

Speakers participating in the Seminar included Mr. Phan Duc Hieu - Member of the National Assembly Economic and Financial Committee; Mr. Can Van Luc - Chief Economist of BIDV and Member of the Prime Minister's Policy Advisory Council; Mr. Nguyen Nhu Quynh - President of the National Institute for Finance Strategy and Policy under the Ministry of Finance; Mr. Nguyen Dinh Cung - Former President of the Central Institute for Economic Management (CIEM); and several other speakers contributing opinions from WB and international consulting firms.

Representing SCIC at the Seminar were Mr. Nguyen Chi Thanh - Member of the Executive Committee of the Government Party Committee, Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman of the SCIC Board of Members; Mr. Nguyen Quoc Huy - Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, Board Member, SCIC General Director; along with other board members, the Board of Directors, the Board of Supervisors, and representatives of SCIC’s functional departments.

At the seminar, in his presentation on "The necessity and orientation for transformation and promotion of the SCIC model," Mr. Dinh Viet Tung - Deputy General Director of SCIC reported that: over the past 19 years, SCIC has achieved cumulative business results with a total profit before tax of VND 108,830 billion; budget contributions of VND 108,145 billion; and an average return on equity (ROE) of 13% per year.

Mr. Dinh Viet Tung - Deputy General Director of SCIC reports at the seminar

SCIC's revenue has increased 52 times, profit after tax has increased 72 times, owner's equity has increased 17 times, and total assets have increased 12 times. The total value of the portfolio currently held is over VND 200,000 billion (approximately USD 8 billion). SCIC has demonstrated effectiveness in the management and investment of state capital, clearly demonstrating its role as a special economic organization, contributing to promoting the operational efficiency of enterprises post-equitization. However, international experience and practical reality require a choice of model for SCIC's transformation.

Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) are increasingly playing a critical role in the global financial system, serving as both large-scale investors and tools for macroeconomic stabilization. Within this context, SWFs generally follow two basic models: the fund manager model and the investment firm model. In the fund manager model, assets remain under government ownership, while investment activities are assigned to a management unit. In this model, the fund management unit enjoys management fees based on scale and performance. This model is often used to manage foreign exchange reserve funds or funds with revenue from national natural resources. In the investment firm model, state assets are transferred to a firm to own and operate. This model is suitable for SWFs with dynamic investment strategies aligned with national goals and which perform the role of an active shareholder in enterprises (examples include Singapore's Temasek or Malaysia's Khazanah).

Citing the Temasek model, Mr. Dinh Viet Tung stated that this is a prime example of success in creating sustainable value for the nation and serves as a solid basis for SCIC to reference and learn from. Both SCIC and Temasek were established to separate the function of state administration from that of the state capital owner in enterprises, and to develop the value of state capital. Temasek and SCIC share similarities in roles and missions; both were established stemming from the need to separate state management from corporate business administration, with the common mission of managing and developing state capital through capital investment and trading activities based on market principles.

The contexts of Vietnam and Singapore share a commonality in that neither nation has excessive revenue sources from oil, gas, or minerals; the primary assets of Temasek and SCIC upon establishment were derived from receiving state capital at enterprises (not from natural resources or foreign exchange reserves). Temasek is a symbol of transparency, professional governance, and high investment efficiency. Learning from Temasek helps SCIC strengthen confidence, attract investors, and accelerate divestment, equitization, and investment expansion; lessons from this model can be applied immediately, such as the transfer of enterprises, increasing the independence of the Board of Directors, expanding investment channels, enhancing transparency, and investing overseas.

Mr. Andrea Campagnoli, Bain & Company Vietnam, speaks at the seminar

Sharing insights on the model, Mr. Adrian Chung, Head of External Affairs at Temasek, noted that with a model operating for 51 years, Temasek manages an initial portfolio of SGD 354 million. It invests not only in established sectors but also in emerging economies, diversifying its investment portfolio and expanding beyond the Asian market to the US and UK to become a global investment organization. The Singaporean Government, Temasek's sole shareholder, through the Ministry of Finance, does not directly direct or intervene in the company's operations. Although 100% owned by the Singaporean Government (via the Ministry of Finance), leadership members such as the Chairman, CEO, and executive board members are not personnel belonging to Government ministries.

Vietnam is aiming to become a developed, high-income country by 2045. To achieve this, modernizing the economy, promoting innovation, digital transformation, and developing large enterprises, including State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), is extremely urgent. SCIC is expected to become the State's key financial instrument, mobilizing and concentrating resources from the restructuring of capital in state-owned enterprises and other assigned state resources to invest in developing large-scale, highly efficient enterprises. Through these enterprises, it will perform "seed capital" investments, leading other investors as well as attracting foreign capital to invest in projects important to the economy such as strategic infrastructure, green transition, the digital economy, or high-tech sectors; gradually moving towards overseas investment; acting as a bridge between the state economic sector and the private economic sector in mobilizing capital for development investment. Key solution groups for transforming SCIC include: strengthening resources & capital scale; perfecting institutions & legal framework; and optimizing organizational structure & human resources.

Mr. Cao Anh Tuan - Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee, Deputy Minister of Finance, speaks at the seminar

Speaking at the seminar, Mr. Cao Anh Tuan - Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee, Deputy Minister of Finance stated: Law No. 68/2025/QH15 dated June 14, 2025, on the management and investment of state capital at enterprises has been promulgated by the National Assembly, replacing Law No. 69/2014/QH13. This is considered the foundational legal basis and is particularly important for the management of state capital invested in enterprises. Currently, the Ministry of Finance is finalizing and submitting to the Government for promulgation three Decrees guiding the implementation of Law No. 68/2025/QH15 and six Decrees on the operational mechanisms and specific financial mechanisms of a number of Groups, Corporations, and SOEs in key sectors, including a Decree on the operational mechanism and financial management mechanism for enterprises with functions of state capital investment and trading.

Law No. 68/2025/QH15, along with the three guiding Decrees, has created more open policies in the management and investment of state capital at enterprises. However, for each enterprise operating in specific sectors, research and development of a Decree on operational mechanisms and financial management mechanisms for each enterprise will overcome difficulties, limitations, and obstacles in the operational process of enterprises. This contributes to realizing the goal of legal reform, timely removing institutional bottlenecks, and continuing to perfect the legal framework for state capital investment and business in enterprises in line with requirements for innovation and integration; enhancing transparency, feasibility, validity, and efficiency; creating momentum for SOEs to develop rapidly and sustainably in the new era, and best promoting their role and position.

The government has undergone a very long process of restructuring, arranging, and innovating SOEs, from over 12,000 enterprises down to 6,000 enterprises, and currently, there are 866 SOEs, including 500 enterprises with 100% state capital, 203 enterprises with over 50% state capital, and 163 enterprises with under 50% charter capital. In parallel with researching, drafting, and promulgating legal normative documents, researching and learning from international experience in building and operating a sovereign wealth fund model for SCIC (such as Temasek Holdings of Singapore, Khazanah of Malaysia, Danatara of Indonesia) to distill similarities and analyze differences regarding Vietnam is crucial. This will help to research and evaluate the suitability of this model in Vietnam's context, and assess the orientation for forming a strong financial organization with functions of state capital investment and trading to become an important instrument of the Vietnamese Government in the process of restructuring and improving the operational efficiency of state-owned enterprises.

The Deputy Minister also clearly stated the objective of the seminar, which includes extracting necessary and specific content to propose and contribute to building the Decree on the operational mechanism and specific financial management mechanism for capital investment and trading enterprises. If SCIC becomes the Government's sovereign wealth fund, what will the operating model, financial mechanism, and projected resources look like? There is a need to clearly define recommendations on resources and propose specific mechanisms and policies to create a legal basis for SCIC to realize its mission as an effective financial instrument leading economic development in the new period. As the representative agency of the Government owner as well as the state management agency, the Ministry of Finance always stands side by side with SCIC in realizing the above goals. With SCIC's determination and efforts, along with the companionship and joint efforts of the Government, Ministries, sectors, and localities, SCIC will successfully complete the tasks entrusted by the Party and State, contributing to the growth and strength of Vietnam in the new era.

Following the speech by Mr. Cao Anh Tuan - Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee, Deputy Minister of Finance, speakers including: Mr. Phan Duc Hieu, Member of the National Assembly Economic Committee; Mr. Nguyen Chi Thanh, Chairman of SCIC Board of Members; Mr. Tran Dinh Cung, former President of CIEM; Mr. Can Van Luc, Chief Economist of BIDV; Mr. Nguyen Nhu Quynh, President of the National Institute for Finance Strategy and Policy; and Mr. Andrea Campagnoli, Founding Partner, Bain & Company Vietnam, participated in sharing at the panel discussion on the orientation for the new SCIC model.

Speakers and experts share insights at the discussion panel on the orientation for the new SCIC model

Some key opinions exchanged at the discussion included: SCIC's scale is still too small, and the process of transferring capital and assets to SCIC remains slow and has not met requirements; legal institutions have undergone many changes but have not truly focused on perfecting operations for SCIC as a special financial organization; there is a need to change the administrative management mindset in state capital management from transferring and valuing capital sales to active state capital investment and trading; changing mindsets to create breakthroughs in state capital management in Vietnam; when becoming a sovereign wealth fund, there naturally needs to be regulations appropriate to that model; SCIC must operate according to law like international entities and be governed according to international practices - this is both a pressure and a motivation for SCIC; and there is a need to redefine SCIC's mindset to push SOE reform to a new level of thinking.

Mr. Nguyen Chi Thanh - Member of the Executive Committee of the Government Party Committee, Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman of the Board of Members of SCIC, speaks at the seminar

Delivering the closing speech at the Seminar, Mr. Nguyen Chi Thanh - Member of the Executive Committee of the Government Party Committee, Secretary of the Party Committee, Chairman of the Board of Members of SCIC respectfully thanked Mr. Cao Anh Tuan - Deputy Minister of Finance, leaders of agencies, ministries, and enterprises, experts, speakers, and press agencies for attending the seminar, and simultaneously fully accepted the directive opinions of the Deputy Minister.

The seminar clarified many important points, emphasizing that SCIC's new model in the coming time will be effective when SCIC is granted sufficient authority and autonomy in investment and divestment decisions, avoiding administrative interference in business operations. A complete institutional and legal framework is a prerequisite for SCIC to operate under the sovereign wealth fund model according to international standards. Furthermore, the model needs to be governed according to international practices with an independent, professional Board of Members’ and transparent reporting, monitoring, and information disclosure mechanisms. Investment efficiency needs to be evaluated across the entire portfolio based on a long-term vision, while the State holds the role of orientation and supervision but does not intervene in direct administration.

The results obtained from this seminar will serve as an important basis for SCIC to continue perfecting its operational model toward professional capital investment and forming a sovereign wealth fund. This is also the foundation helping SCIC to soon report to the Ministry of Finance and submit the new model to the Prime Minister for approval, thereby building a full and synchronous legal system, creating a long-term development orientation, and enhancing the effectiveness of its contribution to Vietnam's economic development.