HSBC commits $12 bln green financing for Vietnam

By Dat Nguyen January 25, 2022 | 09:55 pm PT

Wind turbines are seen in Quang Tri Province in October 2021. Photo by VnExpress/Hoang Tao

HSBC has announced it will arrange financing of up to $12 billion to support Vietnam’s goal of becoming a ‘net-zero’ emissions economy by 2050.

From now until 2030, it would mobilize funds from the local and international financial markets to provide a range of solutions for the government and corporate sector to achieve the climate goals, it said in a statement.

To reach its net zero target by 2050 Vietnam needs to significantly invest in renewable energy and green infrastructure, it added.

"These commitments give the private sector more confidence to borrow and invest," HSBC Vietnam CEO Tim Evans said.

Net zero refers to the rate of greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere.

The government made the commitment to make the country net-zero at the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference last year, also committing to phase out coal power.

An HSBC report said Ho Chi Minh City is among many cities in Asia (besides Mumbai, Shanghai, Bangkok, and Jakarta) that are increasingly threatened by rising sea levels.

The World Bank has also warned that Vietnam is one of five countries likely to be affected the most by climate change, which will reduce the country’s GDP by up to 3.5 percent by 2050.