Need for a truly green credit ecosystem
On May 9 in Da Nang, the Forum "Connecting Green Credit - Green Industrial Park" organized by Thai Bang Group in coordination with the State Bank of Vietnam Region 9 attracted more than 100 delegates including leaders of the Government, State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), central and local ministries, branches and many experts, investors, and large domestic and international enterprises to attend.
In the context of green transformation becoming an irreversible trend, opinions at the forum were unanimous: Green credit is not simply a supporting cash flow but a trust, a "catalyst" to promote a Vietnam to develop towards a circular and sustainable economy.
Vietnam currently has about 290 industrial parks in operation, but only about 1-2% of them are gradually switching to the ecological industrial park (EIA) model. In Da Nang city - one of the first three localities in the country to pilot this model - there are currently 6 industrial parks with a total area of over 1,100 hectares. The city aims to have 2-3 ecological industrial parks meeting national standards by 2030.
However, as Dr. Phung Tan Viet - former Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Da Nang City - shared: "Green transformation in industrial parks is an inevitable trend but cannot be successful if only relying on the awareness or efforts of one side. The prerequisite is to have a strong enough green credit ecosystem to support and accompany businesses throughout the long journey.
Mr. Viet cited an example from Da Nang itself, old industrial parks such as Hoa Khanh were chosen as a pilot for conversion but still face many barriers due to the lack of a specific green credit mechanism, lack of development buffer zone and difficulty accessing environmentally friendly infrastructure investment capital.
According to Ms. Le Thi Thuy Sen - Editor-in-Chief of Banking Times: Green credit is a capital flow with vision. It not only helps realize green projects, but also shows confidence in the future of sustainable development, in the circular economic model that Vietnam is pursuing".
In fact, developing green industrial parks cannot be just individual investment items. It needs a stable capital flow, with a long-term mechanism, preferential interest rates and clear criteria.
However, the current green credit ratio only accounts for about 4.6% of the total outstanding credit of the whole industry - a figure that is too modest compared to the potential and goals set. Meanwhile, the demand for renewable energy and green transformation of industrial park infrastructure, according to the WB, could reach hundreds of billions of USD by 2040.
The State Bank has issued many policies to encourage green credit, and has developed a list of 12 priority green areas, said Standing Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Dao Minh Tu. However, the current problem is that credit institutions are still confused because there are no unified instructions on criteria, green portfolios, as well as a synchronous green credit monitoring mechanism across the country".
Unblocking bottlenecks, creating policy confidence
One of the issues emphasized by many speakers is the need to urgently complete the legal framework on green credit. Without a clear policy framework, there will be no confidence for businesses to boldly invest in green technology and innovate production processes for the long term, said Mr. Dang Quoc Bao - Deputy General Director of Trung Nam Group.
Mr. Bao said that Trung Nam is operating renewable energy projects with a total capacity of 1.6GW and a revenue of more than 7,000 billion VND/year. However, all loans of more than VND26,000 billion of this group are still not counted as green credit because "no agency guides or confirms green project standards at the time of implementation". This is also a common situation of many domestic enterprises: having demand, having capacity, having projects - but lacking a legal corridor to access preferential capital sources.
Dr. Dang Quang Hai - Da Nang Biotechnology Center - recommends: "To make green industrial parks not just a slogan, it is necessary to legalize ecological industrial park criteria, establish a separate green credit policy and establish an independent ESG certification system. That is a way to improve competitiveness and unblock long-term capital flows for the green economy".
At the forum, many localities such as Da Nang, Quang Nam, Dong Nai also shared the practical implementation of the green industrial park pilot and the difficulties when going from political determination to specific action. From lack of land fund, lack of technical standards, lack of capital for technological innovation, to lack of information connecting to banks... - all are barriers that green credit needs to overcome.
The forum "Connecting green credit - Green industrial park" closed but a new spirit was opened. Vietnam has the potential to go faster and further on the green economic path, if green credit truly becomes the "blood" feeding all innovation models.
