Vietnam's green credit surpasses 828 trillion dong

At a workshop on 23 June, the State Bank of Vietnam reported that 82 credit institutions have issued green loans totaling more than 828 000 billion dong, a 4.6‑fold increase since 2017 and an average annual growth of over 20 %. The portfolio is concentrated in agriculture, forestry, fisheries and biodiversity (over 32 %) and green energy (over 30 %). Loans weighted for environmental and social risk exceed 5 700 000 billion dong, representing more than 30 % of the economy’s total loan stock.

Senior officials highlighted challenges: the lack of clear criteria for defining “green” projects hampers assessment, and small‑and‑medium enterprises struggle to meet the stringent ESG standards and to finance the upfront changes needed for green transformation. Hà Thu Giang, head of the SBV’s credit department, called green credit “the bloodstream of finance” that directs capital toward sustainable growth. The central bank is drafting a decree to provide a 2 % state‑subsidised interest rate for qualifying green projects, pending guidelines from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment. Agribank alone has extended green credit to nearly 39 000 clients, with a loan book of about 28 000 billion dong, half of which funds renewable‑energy projects.