Standard Chartered’s exclusive conversation with PM on role of private sector

Hosted by Jose Vinals, group chairman of Standard Chartered Bank, the conference drew over 300 senior business leaders and foreign investors who are the bank’s global clients and members of the British Chamber of Commerce Vietnam (Britcham Vietnam). They joined onsite at the event venue and virtually from Vietnam.

At the event, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh shared his views on the outlook for Vietnam’s investment environment, the country’s ambitions for COP26, and plans for a more sustainable future. He also took the time to address questions about the main opportunities and risks for Vietnam amid the shift of global supply, and Vietnam’s sustainability journey.

“As world leaders gear up to accelerate and scale up climate action at the UN Conference of the Parties COP26, Southeast Asia continues to face disproportionate risks of climate change. While Vietnam has set ambitious renewable energy targets, the financing required to achieve a transition to a net zero economy over time will be sizeable. We remain committed to supporting Vietnam’s sustainable development and look forward to working with the Prime Minister on Vietnam’s net-zero transition,” said Jose Vinals, group chairman of Standard Chartered Bank.

In the presence of the PM, ministers, and chairman of Standard Chartered Bank, the bank exchanged MoUs worth a total of $8.5 billion with three Vietnamese businesses on a project to support their sustainability goals. These include: MoU with T&T Group: Financing environment, waste treatment, LNG gas fired power plants, and renewable energy projects; MoU with Geleximco Group: Financing paper, pulp, and afforestation, LNG gas fired power plants, tourism complex, and seaport projects; and Van Lang Investment and Education Management Corporation: Financing the construction of a green university campus.

“The private sector has a crucial role to play in the fight against climate change – by unlocking and deploying the financing needed to support climate compatible infrastructure, renewable energy and other vital sectors. The funding gap in Asia is $210 billion annually to 2030, or $3.1 trillion in total. In most Southeast Asian countries that gap is $100 billion per year. That is why we are committed to investing in Vietnam to finance the country’s sustainable development and securing its prosperity,” said Vinals.

Following the PM's speech, his accompanying cabinet ministers, including Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung, Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, and Minister of Agriculture Le Minh Hoan held a Q&A session with selected businesses, which discussed Vietnam’s foreign investment outlook and its sustainability vision.

In parallel with this session, Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam hosted an interactive virtual discussion with senior business executives across Asia about the region’s journey to net-zero and the role of the private sector in keeping global warming under the levels set by the Paris Agreement. This is the second webinar of the Sustainability webinar series to be organised by Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam supported by Britcham Vietnam from now till the end of 2022 to promote sustainability development in Vietnam.

Standard Chartered is a leading international banking group, with a presence in 59 of the world’s most dynamic markets and serving clients in a further 85. It is one of the first international banks to establish a presence in Vietnam, having set up it first branch in Ho Chi Minh City in 1904.

The bank is a strategic partner of the Green Horizon Summit, a key event on the side-lines of the COP26 conference.