HCMC - Environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards have become a key criterion for assessing corporate capability and accessing long-term investment capital in Vietnam, according to discussions at the 2026 Vietnam ESG Investor Conference held in HCMC.

The conference, organized by Raise Partners and Ivy+Partners, brought together more than 250 participants and over 40 speakers from government agencies, investment funds, financial institutions and businesses. Discussions focused on three trends that are shaping investment decisions in Vietnam. Participants said Vietnam’s progress toward FTSE Emerging Markets status could attract larger capital inflows but would require higher standards of transparency, governance and operations. Speakers also said ESG is increasingly being used by investors to evaluate governance, resilience and capital readiness, moving beyond a compliance-based approach. Another key issue was implementation. Participants noted that while awareness of ESG has improved, many companies still face challenges related to data availability, governance systems and integrating ESG standards into business operations.