Citi promotes social finance in Asia

The team is involved in corporate and commercial banking in Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.

Each country has a dedicated social finance team that partners with local businesses to develop pioneering programmes and debt solutions including term debt, bonds, initial public offerings, and securitisations, as well as partnering with development agencies and impact investors.

“Citi is uniquely positioned to enable clients and partners to scale the delivery of products and services that improve the livelihoods of underserved and low-income communities across the emerging markets,” said Jorge Rubio Nava, global head of Social Finance.

“We have a large and diverse pipeline across several sectors in Asia, including economic inclusion, healthcare, infrastructure, food security, and education. We are excited about the opportunity to use our network to support local communities further,” Nava added.

The expanded focus on Asia further supports Citi’s recent good work across social finance in the region.

In July, Citi Vietnam approved a revolving social finance credit facility for Ngon Coffee to finance the sourcing of green coffee beans from local farmers and traders in the Central Highlands. Ngon Coffee is a Vietnamese subsidiary of CCL Products India, and one of the largest private label manufacturers of instant coffee in the world.

Citi has also supported a pioneering social carbon offset scheme in Vietnam, enabling low-income households to access energy-efficient cooking stoves and water purifiers, while providing employment opportunities for women in rural communities.

These initiatives support Citi’s commitment to finance and facilitate $1 trillion in sustainable finance by 2030, aiming to advance the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.

These efforts in Asia also contribute towards Citi’s global efforts to support economic progress for 15 million low-income households, including 10 million women, by 2025.

FinanceAsia names Citi Best Sustainable Bank in Vietnam Citi has been recognised by FinanceAsia, the region's premier capital markets publication, for sustainability work in the country and commitment to partnering with clients.

Citi highlights green finance at CEO 100 meeting Citi's Vietnam country officer Ramachandran A.S. delivered a speech focusing on financial solutions to support green growth and sustainable business at an investment event that gathered 100 CEOs from major global corporations.

Boosting green finance for a low-carbon economy in Vietnam As Vietnam aims for a low-carbon growth model and carbon neutrality by 2050, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), in partnership with the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), is scaling up its support to the government to promote sustainable finance and spur private sector investment.

Nascent green finance market in need of robust support Vietnam is making it a priority to establish a domestic carbon market in the next five years in order to reach net-zero carbon emissions.