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| Green bonds are expected to become an effective capital mobilization channel for green infrastructure projects for the environment in Vietnam. |
The pioneering steps
In early June 2025, according to the announcement of the State Securities Commission, Ho Chi Minh City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank ( HDBank ) has completed the documents, ready for the offering of up to 100 million USD in bonds to the international market in 2025. The offering will be divided into two phases, each phase is expected to raise a maximum of 50 million USD.
According to the plan proposed by this bank, the capital raised from the international bond offering will be used for green lending, specifically to supplement credit capital to finance/refinance projects that meet the standards prescribed in the sustainable finance framework and other relevant documents of HDBank.
In fact, a number of other green bond issuances have been completed in recent times, although not many. Specifically, in April 2025, Xuan Mai - Hanoi Clean Water Transmission Company Limited (a subsidiary of AquaOne Water Joint Stock Company) successfully issued green bonds worth VND317.2 billion, with a term of 20 years. According to Mr. Nguyen Tung Anh, Director of Sustainable Finance Services at FiinRatings, this is one of the few non-financial organizations to issue bonds with the longest term in the past 10 years in the Vietnamese capital market.
Previously, another subsidiary of AquaOne also successfully issued VND875 billion worth of green bonds with a term of 20 years. 2024 also saw the successful issuance of Gia Lai Electricity Joint Stock Company (GEC) - the first listed company in Vietnam with a green bond framework certified according to climate bond standards, or IDI Multinational Investment and Development Joint Stock Company (IDI).
HDBank’s upcoming international bond offering will be conducted through a private placement, targeting institutional investors expected to be in the US and Dutch markets. There is no information yet on the volume of orders or the interest rate of investors. However, there are notable signals reflecting the level of interest of investors and issuers in the sustainable finance sector.
In a recent report, experts from FiinRatings pointed out that the greenium level - the yield difference between green bonds and regular bonds - reflects the positive level of interest of investors and issuers in the sustainable finance sector. In fact, observations and estimates by this credit rating agency show that in Vietnam, the total cost that businesses have to pay when issuing green bonds (including coupons and other costs) is still 1-2% lower than the average interest rate of regular bonds issued by businesses in the same industry.
In developed European markets such as Germany, greenium has been stable at 2-3 percentage points since the end of 2022, showing that investors are willing to accept lower yields to invest in projects with a positive impact on the environment. In Asia and ASEAN+3, this figure could reach 15 percentage points, according to the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO).
Removing obstacles from green classification criteria
Sharing at the Vietnam Sustainable Finance 2025 Conference, Mr. Bertrand Jabouley, Director of Asia-Pacific at S&P Global Ratings, said that 2024 witnessed remarkable growth, when sustainable bond issuance in Vietnam tripled compared to the previous year, opening up positive development prospects in the near future.
When the green classification list is issued, Vietnam's green bond market will develop more systematically, transparently and effectively. 
“However, the proportion of sustainable bonds in Vietnam is still much lower than in regional countries such as Korea, Japan, or Western countries, where this ratio often exceeds 100%,” the expert highly appreciated the developments in the primary market recently.
Regarding the longer-term future prospects, Mr. Tung Anh expects that when the green classification list is issued, the Vietnamese green bond market will develop more systematically, transparently and effectively. Domestic banks are considered pioneers, with experience accumulated through previous green financing projects, and have the motivation and capacity to issue green bonds in the near future.
In fact, in preparation for the green bond issuance, HDBank issued a sustainable finance framework at the end of November 2024. Under this framework, the Bank voluntarily complied with current international standards on green bond issuance and green credit based on the international principles and guidelines of the International Capital Market Association and the Loan Market Association. In the case of other businesses, some companies also need an independent party to confirm that the company's green finance framework is in accordance with the standards.
From the experience of many countries, the most important point at present is still to remove legal obstacles with specific regulations on green classification. According to an update from Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Dinh Tho, Deputy Director of the Institute of Strategy and Policy on Agriculture and Environment (under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), the draft green classification list has been completed, submitted to the Prime Minister for consideration and is expected to be issued in 2025.
In the coming time, with clearer benefits and a completed legal corridor, experts from FiinRatings expect that this sustainable debt instrument market will develop strongly and vibrantly, becoming an effective capital mobilization channel for green infrastructure projects for the environment in Vietnam.
Source: https://baodautu.vn/ky-vong-tang-toc-kenh-trai-phieu-xanh-d303059.html
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