During the 2013 fiscal year, the IFC's trade finance programme enabled participating banks to issue 155 guarantees to support more than $800 million in trade finance, making Viet Nam one of IFC's top markets in this field.—Photo bonfireimpact.com

HA NOI (Biz Hub)— The International Finance Corporation (IFC) provided up to US$805 million in trade finance to Viet Nam's banking sector in the previous financial year, according to an announcement made yesterday.

The agency, which is a member of the World Bank, supplied the funds in the previous fiscal year ending June 2013, in an effort to boost lending to small and medium enterprises, create jobs and lift economic growth.

"Viet Nam's economy is experiencing its longest slow growth period since the economic reforms in the late 1980s, growing just 5 percent in the second quarter," said Karin Finkelston, IFC vice president Asia Pacific.

As high borrowing costs became a key factor in company closures and bankruptcies, the IFC's Global Trade Finance Program helped Vietnamese banks increase lending to domestic businesses and facilitate cross-border trade that was vital to private sector growth.

During the 2013 fiscal year, the IFC's trade finance programme enabled participating banks to issue 155 guarantees to support more than $800 million in trade finance, making Viet Nam one of IFC's top markets in this field.

"After operating in Viet Nam for more than 15 years, we have confidence in the country's long-term economic prospects and have remained fully committed to supporting its growth during difficult periods," said Finkelston.

"Looking forward, we will focus our efforts on helping accelerate necessary structural reforms in the state-owned enterprises and in the banking sector, in order to see Viet Nam's economy maintain its competitiveness and return to more robust economic growth."

The IFC pledged to help banks manage and recover non-performing loans as well as meet international standards on risk management and corporate governance.

In an effort to promote low-carbon growth, the IFC has ramped up efforts to improve energy efficiency in Viet Nam's industrial sector.

Backed by financial and advisory support from the IFC, two Vietnamese lenders – Techcombank and VietinBank – have raised energy-efficiency portfolios to more than $60 million during the last three years.

The IFC is also partnering with the Ministry of Construction to revise the Building Energy Efficiency Code that aims to reduce building energy consumption by up to 15 per cent per square meter, in new buildings.

The IFC's total investments in the East Asia Pacific reached a record of $3.4 billion across 83 projects in the 2013 fiscal year, an increase of 15 per cent from the previous fiscal year. — VNS