Representatives of DFC and VPBank signed the commitment letter on a bilateral loan worth US$300 million. Photo courtesy of VPBank

Việt Nam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) on Sunday in Hà Nội inked a commitment letter on a bilateral loan worth US$300 million with a seven-year tenor.

The loan arranged by DFC aims at improving small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) access to finance, especially women-owned, women-led, and climate-focused SMEs in Việt Nam.

The signing ceremony was witnessed by US Ambassador to Việt Nam Marc Knapper, Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, DFC CEO Scott Nathan, and VPBank Chairman Ngô Chí Dũng, along with other leaders of both organisations.

DFC, the US government’s development finance institution, was established in 2019 under the Better Utilisation of Investments Leading to Development (BUILD) Act and focuses on bringing private capital to the developing world. DFC’s mission is to promote US diplomatic policies and catalyse investment in private sector-led development. The signing ceremony took place within the framework of the official visit of US President Joe Biden to Việt Nam from September 10 to 11, 2023, on the 10th anniversary of Việt Nam-US comprehensive partnership, demonstrating the two countries’ positive and increasingly tightened co-operative relationship in many areas.

Scott Nathan, DFC's General Director delivered a speech at the signing ceremony. Photo courtesy of VPBank

The approval of the loan from DFC, a US government agency with international standards and prudent credit appraisal standards and processes, to VPBank has once again affirmed VPBank’s position as the market-leading commercial bank in Việt Nam.

The $300-million (VNĐ7.2-trillion equivalent) loan will serve as an important source of financing to help strengthen VPBank’s capital base, which in turn will promote sustainable lending activities in line with the bank’s growth strategy. These include supporting SMEs, women-owned or women-led SMEs, as well as shifting the bank’s portfolios towards climate-focused and low-carbon technology projects.

Over the past years, VPBank has always been one of the leading banks in Việt Nam that move ahead with environmental, social and climate contribution through developing and acting on a sustainable and consistent financial development strategy with clear awareness of accountable lending principles.

Prior to the loan extended by DFC, VPBank has been able to secure a number of large-sized syndicated loans worth over a billion of dollars since 2020 from reputable lenders worldwide. In particular, VPBank has lately fruitfully mobilised a $500-million syndicated loan at the end of 2022 with five reputable financial institutions, namely the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), ANZ Bank and Maybank Securities Pte Ltd. VNS