Multilateral development bank AIIB commits $5 bln funding for Vietnam

Beijing-headquartered Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has committed to providing Vietnam with approximately $5 billion in financing at preferential interest rates to support infrastructure projects.

The financing will target big-ticket projects that are processed in a short time and highly effective, said AIIB president Jin Liqun at a meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh in Hanoi on Tuesday.

AIIB’s Vietnam operations have been mainly engaged with the private sector, providing funds worth $223 million for three projects in areas such as Covid-19 response, solar energy, hydropower, and climate change-resilient infrastructure.

The bank earlier this month signed a $75 million financing contract to support green and blue bonds to be issued by Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank), marking the first ever blue bond issued from Vietnam and also AIIB’s first investment in a blue bond.

AIIB is interested in financing projects in renewable energy, transportation infrastructure, and water supply and drainage in Vietnam, according to the Vietnamese government’s news portal.

At the meeting, PM Chinh highlighted Vietnam's commitment to strengthening its cooperative relationship with AIIB.

As Vietnam is pursuing breakthroughs in strategic infrastructure, the country has significant needs across road, rail, aviation, maritime, and inland waterway transport. However, the government will prioritize investments that create new development spaces and added value, Chinh noted.

The PM proposed that AIIB provide Vietnam with consultancy and concessional loans for large-scale, highly-effective, and game-changing infrastructure projects such as a transnational high-speed railway, three northern railway lines connecting China and extending to Europe and Central Asia, and urban railway lines in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

Starting operations in January 2016, AIIB is a multilateral development bank that began with 57 founding member countries, including Vietnam. It now has 109 members worldwide, representing 81% of the global population and 65% of global GDP. To date, AIIB has approved 274 projects worth over $53.5 billion for its member countries.