The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has signed a USD75-million financing contract to support green and blue bonds to be issued by Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank). This marks the first ever blue bond issued from Viet Nam and is also 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 economic activities linked to water and the sea. It is also expected to grow green assets such as green buildings, renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Viet Nam is a founding member of AIIB, a multilateral development bank whose mission is financing Infrastructure for Tomorrow. The country has long coastlines that have great potential for developing a blue economy, and thus has promising potential with regard to the investment goals of SeABank.
“Viet Nam’s Nationally Determined Contribution lays emphasis on the importance of resource mobilization from financial and international credit institutions to support climate mitigation and adaptation ambitions,” said Gregory Liu, AIIB Director General of Financial Institutions and Funds, Global. “AIIB is very pleased to work with SeABank and IFC in this innovative transaction that will supplement ongoing measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to thematic capital market development. We look forward to seeing more issuances from other Vietnamese financial institutions.”
“Following SeABank’s commitment to sustainability, one of our priorities is to issue the first blue bond in Viet Nam and the first green bond by a private commercial bank in the country,” said Le Thu Thuy, SeABank Vice Chairwoman of the Board of Directors. “We hope our partnerships with financial institutions such as AIIB and IFC would supplement SeABank’s capital sources to foster green credit and sustainable strategies associated with the green and blue economies.”
Sharing the same goal of enhancing Viet Nam’s sustainable economy, AIIB and IFC (the other parallel investor) are supporting SeABank in these green and blue bonds project. The two financial institutions have committed to invest up to USD150 million in this project, while advising SeABank on the issuance of green and blue bonds, application of related frameworks and pipeline development.
Consistent with its sustainable development goal, SeABank has continuously prioritized the application of international best practices in environmental and social risk management while effectively implementing financial inclusion projects for small and medium enterprises and women-owned enterprises, implementing green finance projects and climate change mitigation. As a result, SeABank has garnered trust and continuous investments from various international financial institutions, with a total capital of nearly USD850 million.
AIIB is committed to support SeABank's efforts to expand partnerships and implement sustainable projects to create positive socioeconomic and environmental impact, thereby contributing to national goals of green transition and net zero commitments.
About AIIB
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank whose mission is financing the Infrastructure for Tomorrow—infrastructure with sustainability at its core. We began operations in Beijing in January 2016 and have since grown to 109 approved members worldwide. We are capitalized at USD100 billion and Triple-A-rated by the major international credit rating agencies. Collaborating with partners, AIIB meets clients’ needs by unlocking new capital and investing in infrastructure that is green, technology-enabled and promotes regional connectivity.
About SeABank
Established in 1994, SeABank is one of the leading joint stock commercial banks in Vietnam with more than 3 million customers, nearly 5,500 employees and 181 transaction points nationwide. SeABank is working to become a typical retail bank with its customer-centric strategy by providing a diverse system of financial products and services for individuals, SMEs and large enterprises. SeABank is considered as one of the pillars in the Vietnamese banking system with a charter capital of VND24,957 billion, Ba3 ratings by Moody's in many important categories, and is one of the pioneered banks to implement and apply Basel III framework.
Following its “Digital Convergence” development strategy, SeABank focuses on digitalizing products and services, applying technology in internal operations, and investing in developing modern technological infrastructures. Thereby, the Bank could optimize procedures, increase operational efficiency, and bring customers a different experience on digital banking services, aiming to become the favorite retail bank in Vietnam.
