HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM – Media OutReach Newswire – 6 January 2025 - The Ho Chi Minh City Development Joint Stock Commercial Bank (HDBank, stock code: HDB) has issued VND3 trillion (US$118 million) in green bonds, becoming Viet Nam's first private bank to do so.

The green bonds aim to finance environmentally sustainable projects and promote green economic development with maturities of two, three, and five years, aligning with International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and Loan Market Association (LMA) compliance standards.

The green bonds have attracted considerable interest from prominent institutional investors, achieving full order volume within a remarkably short timeframe.

The capital raised from these green bonds will be allocated to projects that align with the criteria outlined in HDBank's "Sustainable Finance Framework," with the aim of contributing to environmental protection and advancing green economic development.

Prior to the issuance, HDBank was already among the first banks in Viet Nam to announce a "Sustainable Finance Framework" in accordance with the standards of ICMA and LMA.

Developed with help from the IFC, a member of the World Bank (WB), this framework received a "very good" rating from Moody's.

Phạm Quoc Thanh, CEO of HDBank, said, "The launch of the Sustainable Finance Framework and green bonds demonstrates the bank's commitment to sustainable development.

"This initiative promotes green growth and mobilizes long-term capital for projects that reduce CO2 emissions and support the government's carbon neutrality goal by 2050."

HDBank is also one of the first banks in Viet Nam to establish an environmental and social risk management system aimed at promoting green credit and sustainable finance.

For several years, the lender has received accolades from international institutions like IFC, ADB, DEG, and Proparco for its climate finance and gender equality initiatives.

The bank was also the first in Viet Nam to form an ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) Committee to oversee sustainable development.

In 2024, it published a report on Vietnamese sustainable development.

In 2024, it was recognised for the fifth consecutive year as one of the Top 20 in the Vietnam Sustainable Development Index (VNSI) by the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange (HoSE).