The prime minister pointed out that EIB has had relations with Vietnam for the past 25 years and that it had cooperated with Vietnam on seven projects with a total investment of $561 million. The EIB is the lending arm of the European Union, the biggest multilateral financial institution in the world and one of the largest providers of climate finance.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh at a meeting with the European Investment Bank (EIB) in Luxembourg, December 10, 2022.

Vietnam is currently focused on strategic breakthroughs regarding institutions, infrastructure and human resources, and so it will require a large amount of funding to realize its goals, Chinh said. Besides its existing sources of capital, Vietnam also needs outside funding in the form of investor capital, FDI and loans. As loans must be done in accordance with bank policies, Chinh said he hoped to bolster cooperation with the EIB on a larger scale.

"I hope that in the future, there will be a quicker and more effective development of projects regarding sectors that the bank prioritizes and for which Vietnam has needs, such as fighting climate change and the circular economy," Chinh said.

The Vietnamese leader said he hoped both sides would renew the financial cooperation agreement that was signed in 1997. Chinh said further that Vietnam would send its Minister of Finance to work with the EIB and other financial institutions in Luxembourg.

As Vietnam is a developing country and in a state of transition, Chinh said he hoped the EIB would provide Vietnam with preferential loans and interest rates. He added that Vietnam's financial authorities would continue negotiations with the bank regarding technical issues before the signing of a future protocol.

Chinh also requested the EIB to station representatives in Hanoi, similar to other financial institutions, such as the Word Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

European Commission Director of Finance Peteris Ustubs said the EIB has been cooperating closely with Vietnam regarding energy transition in order to increase investments in green growth projects. He said the bank and Vietnam Electricity (EVN), the largest power company in the country, would sign an agreement to bolster the relationship between the EU and Vietnam, as well as support Vietnam's commitment to net zero emissions by 2050.

Markus Berndt, deputy managing director of EIB Global, said the bank's priorities are similar to that of Vietnam, including fighting climate change, improving the infrastructure for a digital economy, as well as the circular economy.

The EIB will cooperate with the EU to bolster policy mechanisms and simplify procedures to speed up lending, he added.

Chinh began his official visit to Luxembourg on December 9. He will also visit the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as attend a summit in Belgium on December 14 to commemorate 45 years of ASEAN-EU relations.

Luc Ngan to ensure power supply and loans for lychee season

(BGO)- In order to meet the demands for lychee processing and consumption, Luc Ngan Electricity Branch (in northern province of Bac Giang) and commercial banks in the district have worked out production and business plans to prevent shortage, congestion and disruption of the supply chain of goods and necessary services.

Vietnam's VinFast seeks US government loans for expansion

The chairman of Vietnam’s Vingroup conglomerate said on Saturday that the company’s auto unit, VinFast, would seek financing from the U.S. government to support its expansion with a planned plant in North Carolina.

Nearly 6.4 million poor households provided with social policy loans

Nearly 6.4 million poor and near-poor households had access to loans from the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) as of December 31, 2021.

Over 107,000 customers offered policy credit loans with reduced interest

(BGO) - On November 26, 2021, the Prime Minister issued Decision No.1990/QD-TTg about reducing loan interest for policy credit programme at the Social Policy Bank (SPB) with validity from October 1 till the end of December 31, 2021. Accordingly, SPB reduces 10 percent of the interest comparing to the loan interest for policy credit programmes regulated by the Prime Minister.

WB loan to support Vietnam’s economic recovery

The Vietnamese Government and the World Bank have signed an agreement for financing of 221.5 million USD to support Vietnam’s post-pandemic recovery through policy reforms aimed at improving financial inclusion and spurring greater environmental resilience.

Source: VnExpress