Green Bonds are a relatively new, but rapidly growing, financial instrument that can be used to fund projects with a positive environmental impact. Banks in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand have collectively issued more than $43 billion in Green Bonds in the past five years, but Vietnam has been lagging despite many projects seeking financing. Local Vietnamese commercial banks are only in the early stages of developing green bond products and projects. Between November 29 and December 2, USAID, through its Vietnam Urban Energy Security project, provided training on Green Bonds for 75 staff from Vietnam’s largest banks and financial institutions, including VietinBank, Techcombank, Danang City Development & Investment Fund, and Ho Chi Minh City Finance & Investment State Owned Company.
The largely untapped Green Bonds market in Vietnam presents great potential to mobilize significantly more capital and financial incentives for clean energy projects and advance Vietnam’s goal of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
