A high-ranking delegation led by Ho Chi Minh City chairman Phan Van Mai is on a week-long business trip to the United States, during which the officials are scheduled to meet businesses and organizations to promote bilateral cooperation.

During the trip from July 18 to 25, the high-ranking officials from the southern Vietnamese metropolis will convene meetings with economic and financial organizations, the business community, and young intellectuals, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Press Center.

On Monday (U.S. time), the delegation met the Bank of America (BofA) – the second-largest banking institution in the U.S. and one of the world's leading asset management companies.

Chairman Mai expressed his impression with the development of BofA and invited the institution to contribute to the development of Ho Chi Minh City.

The city has the advantage in terms of political and macroeconomic stability, the official said, adding that it accounts for a quarter of Vietnam’s GDP and is considered the ‘economic locomotive’ of the country.

Ho Chi Minh City wants to learn from BofA's experience to take reasonable steps in building an international financial center, Mai stated.

The chairman called for investment into the city in the fields of finance, hi-tech industry, digital transformation, infrastructure, education, and healthcare.

Madhu Kannan, BofA’s executive vice-chair of global corporate and investment banking, said that the bank is operating in certain fields that are compatible with the development plan of Ho Chi Minh City.

Kannan expressed his intention to carry out more in-depth working sessions on the topics that the Vietnamese city is concerned about.

The BofA is applying to open its branch in Ho Chi Minh City with an investment capital of US$50 million, he continued, hoping that city leaders will provide favorable conditions for this process.

On the same day, chairman Mai and his delegation had working sessions with global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, architecture, planning, landscape, and design firm Sasaki, and global investment company KKR.

They also made a visit to the Vietnamese delegation to the United Nations, during which chairman Mai expressed his hope that the delegation will assist the city in forming connection and cooperation with businesses in the U.S..

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