Vietnam needs up to $700bn to support green transition, net-zero goal by 2050

Themed "Where green capital connects investment opportunities," the event was jointly organized by the Executive Board of the Vietnam International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City (VIFC-HCMC), Nam A Bank, FiinGroup & FiinRatings, and the Vietnam office of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI).

Nguyen Huu Huan, deputy chairman of the Executive Board of VIFC-HCMC, said Vietnam faces a huge demand for capital to support green growth and sustainable development.

According to the Ministry of Finance, Vietnam's total long-term investment needs for green growth and sustainable development through 2050 are estimated at $670-700 billion, the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported.

Such a massive funding requirement far exceeds the capacity of the state budget and traditional credit channels, making private and international capital mobilization essential to achieving the country's green development goals, particularly its net-zero emissions target.

According to Huan, the country requires not only additional financial resources but also a larger pipeline of qualified projects capable of attracting investment.

The VIFC-HCMC will serve as a hub connecting international green capital flows with sustainable development projects, contributing to Vietnam's goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, according to the Vietnam Government Portal.

To fulfill this role, the center is working to establish a Green Capital Conversion Hub that will link project preparation, financial structuring, data systems, risk mitigation mechanisms, impact measurement, and investors.

The hub is expected to help transform sustainable development projects into investable assets capable of attracting capital from international markets.

Paul Xavier, program officer at the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, said the market is not short of capital for sustainable development, according to VNA.

International investors are actively seeking green investment opportunities, he said, adding that they are less concerned about which country has the greatest funding needs and more interested in whether a market is attractive enough and has the necessary conditions to receive investment.

Nguyen Quang Thuan, executive chairman of FiinGroup & FiinRatings, said the biggest bottleneck currently lies not in capital availability but in project quality.

Many projects in Vietnam have yet to be designed and structured to meet the expectations of international investors, he said.

Before being labeled 'green,' a project must first demonstrate economic efficiency, financial feasibility, and the ability to generate sustainable cash flows.

"Being green alone does not necessarily make a project more attractive to investors. It only helps broaden the investor base and enhance its appeal. The decisive factors remain the project's economic quality and financial structure," VNA quoted Thuan as saying.