BEIJING, July 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has signed a $75 million financing agreement to support green and blue bonds to be issued by the Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank). This is the first-ever blue bond issued by Vietnam and also constitutes the AIIB’s first investment in a blue bond.
The project is expected to further strengthen SeABank’s strong capital base to expand financing for sustainable water and marine-related economic activities. It is also expected to develop green assets such as green buildings, renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Vietnam Qatar is a founding member of the AIIB, a multilateral development bank whose mission is to finance the infrastructure of tomorrow. The country has long coastlines that have great potential to develop a blue economy, and therefore has promising potential in terms of SeABank’s investment objectives.
“Vietnam “The Nationally Determined Contribution highlights the importance of mobilizing resources from international financial and lending institutions to support climate change mitigation and adaptation ambitions,” said Gregory Liu, Managing Director of Global Financial Institutions and Funds at AIIB. “AIIB is very pleased to work with SeABank and IFC on this innovative transaction that will complement ongoing efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to the development of the thematic capital market. We look forward to seeing more issuances from other Vietnamese financial institutions.”
“Following SeABank’s commitment to sustainable development, one of our priorities is to issue the first blue bond in Vietnam and the first green bond issued by a private commercial bank in the country,” said Le Thu ThuyVice Chair of the Board of Directors of SeABank. “We hope that our partnerships with financial institutions such as AIIB and IFC will complement SeABank’s sources of capital to foster green credit and sustainable strategies associated with green and blue economies.”
Sharing the same goal of improvement Vietnam sustainable economy, AIIB and IFC (the other parallel investor) are supporting SeABank in this green and blue bond project. The two financial institutions have committed to investing up to 150 million USD in this project, while advising SeABank on the issuance of green and blue bonds, the application of related frameworks and the development of the pipeline.
In line with its sustainable development goal, SeABank has always prioritized the application of international best practices in environmental and social risk management while effectively implementing financial inclusion projects for small and medium-sized enterprises and women-owned businesses, implementing green finance and climate change mitigation projects. As a result, SeABank has gained the trust and continuous investment of various international financial institutions, with a total capital of nearly 850 million USD.
AIIB is committed to supporting SeABank’s efforts to expand partnerships and implement sustainable projects to create positive socio-economic and environmental impact, thereby contributing to national green transition goals and net zero commitments.
About AIIB
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank whose mission is to finance the infrastructure of tomorrow, infrastructure that is focused on sustainability. We began our operations in Beijing In January 2016 and we have since 109 approved members worldwide. We are capitalized at 100 billion dollars and rated AAA by major international credit rating agencies. Together with its partners, AIIB meets the needs of its clients by unlocking new capital and investing in green infrastructure, technology and regional connectivity. https://www.aiib.org/fr/index.html
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SOURCE AIIB
