Vietnam

Construction workers, Trung Son Hydropower project construction site, Vietnam. Photo: Mai Ky / World Bank

Key Activities

IFC launched its Integrated Environmental, Social, and Governance Project in Vietnam in 2022. The project's main objectives are to increase the uptake of ESG standards and practices in the financial sector to reduce ESG bottlenecks and facilitate sustainable investments. The Vietnam project will be implemented through the following components below.

Regulatory Level  

The project works with the State Bank of Vietnam and the State Securities Commission of Vietnam to improve the regulatory environment for companies to meet the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) requirements that investors are increasingly demanding. It does so through improving the regulations and supporting their implementation to level the playing field for companies across the market.

Market Level

The project builds capacity for market intermediaries to support companies over the long term as they improve their ESG practices. Market intermediaries are the spectrum of stakeholders that can influence ESG practices at a market or sector level and include governmental bodies or agencies, industry and ESG associations, training and educational organizations, institutes of directors, nongovernmental organizations, consulting firms, and individual consultants. The project is supporting the Vietnam Institute of Directors in becoming a professional organization providing ESG-related training and consulting services to develop a pool of independent directors, advocate good ESG practices, and build a network to connect corporate leaders and stakeholders.

Firm Level

The project supports companies across the financial and real sectors in improving ESG practices using an integrated ESG approach addressing corporate governance, environmental and social practices, and performance through structures, processes, and procedures.

Major Achievements

In 2015 and 2022, IFC supported the State Bank of Vietnam in developing Directive 03/2015 and Circular 17/2022, which mandated that commercial banks integrate environmental and social risks into their current credit risk management framework.

IFC partnered with the State Securities Commission of Vietnam to promote best practices in corporate governance and ESG reporting among public companies. The Vietnam Corporate Governance Code of Best Practices and Sustainability Reporting Handbook for Vietnamese Companies are among the tools developed by this partnership.

IFC played a key role in setting up the Vietnam Institute of Directors), the first independent, private sector–led organization to promote corporate governance standards and best practices in the country.

Other Resources
Our Development Partners

The Integrated Environmental, Social, and Governance Project is implemented in partnership with the Switzerland State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). 

 

integrated esg

Our Local Partners
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