Vietnam PM meets with Standard Chartered executives in Singapore

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called for soft loans from Standard Chartered for green and renewable energy projects in Vietnam while meeting with leaders of the British bank in Singapore on Thursday.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called for soft loans from Standard Chartered for green and renewable energy projects in Vietnam while meeting with leaders of the British bank in Singapore on Thursday.

The Vietnamese PM, who is on an official visit to the city state, met with Simon Cooper, CEO of the corporate and institutional banking segment for Europe and Americas, and Patrick Lee, CEO of Singapore and ASEAN Markets - both with Standard Chartered.

PM Pham Minh Chinh (right) meets with Simon Cooper, CEO of the corporate and institutional banking segment for Europe and Americas, Standard Chartered, in Singapore on February 9, 2023. Photo courtesy of the Vietnamese government portal.

Chinh asked Standard Chartered and its partners to continue considering measures for mobilizing, promoting, and providing financial products for green projects and renewable energy development in Vietnam, which aims for carbon neutrality by 2050.

The PM also called for soft loans for investors in Vietnam considering the country's position as a developing country that must deal with many difficulties while shouldering climate change response like developed nations.

The Vietnamese government pledges to stand with Standard Chartered to create conditions for foreign investors to successfully do business in the country.

Standard Chartered’s Cooper said he highly valued the country’s climate commitments made at international climate change conferences.

He expressed the multination’s hope to cooperate with Vietnam to successfully implement the Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP) agreement for Vietnam, and work with the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero to achieve net-zero emissions.