Vietnam is preparing a medium-term fiscal and budget plan for 2026-2030 valued at more than VND 8 quadrillion. At a policy dialogue held on November 26 during the 2025 Autumn Economic Forum in Ho Chi Minh City, Deputy Minister of Finance Do Thanh Trung said the country is intensifying efforts to mobilise capital for green growth and sustainable development amid rising pressure on public infrastructure, climate resilience, and corporate decarbonisation.

The session, attended by senior officials and policy experts, focused on unlocking breakthrough solutions in digital transformation and green development. Economists noted that despite strong political commitment, many businesses remain unclear about what defines a “green enterprise”, limiting access to concessional and sustainable financing.

Economist Tran Du Lich, chair of the advisory council overseeing the implementation of the National Assembly’s Resolution 98 on special mechanisms for Ho Chi Minh City, underlined the scale of demand at the local level. Citing a joint study by the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies and VinUni, he said the southern city will require about VND 900 trillion (USD 34 billion) over the next decade, or an average of USD 4 billion a year, to develop into a green urban centre.

Lich questioned how such vast resources would be secured and what mechanisms the central government would use to support major urban centres such as Ho Chi Minh City.

Trung said the Ministry of Finance and relevant agencies have adopted a three-pillar approach to boost funding for the green transition. The government is strengthening the green finance market, where corporate green bonds have expanded quickly and major state-owned enterprises, private groups, and large banks are becoming more active in issuing environmentally linked instruments.

Green credit is also rising across the banking system, with lending to environmentally friendly projects growing at a double-digit pace and now accounting for a meaningful share of total outstanding credit. In addition, the government is refining its framework for sovereign green bonds to attract more long-term international financing for climate-related and environmental infrastructure.

Public investment will remain a powerful policy lever. The coming five-year public-investment programme, worth more than VND 8 quadrillion from national and local budgets, will prioritise green transport, environmental infrastructure, and climate-resilience projects. Ho Chi Minh City is expected to be one of the largest beneficiaries given its role as an economic hub facing acute climate pressures.

Trung acknowledged that the absence of a clear and practical “green enterprise” standard is hindering both companies and lenders. Vietnam previously introduced 72 green-growth indicators aligned with international and EU practices, but the framework is considered too broad for direct use by businesses seeking financing.

To close this gap, the Ministry of Finance is developing a dedicated assessment system for enterprises. Work underway includes new reporting templates and data-collection mechanisms to build a national database on firms’ environmental performance. This is intended to support more targeted policy design, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises that often struggle most with compliance and financing burdens.

Trung said the key challenge is finding a balanced, realistic path that advances national green-growth ambitions while matching the financial capacity of Vietnamese businesses. The new criteria are expected to be finalised and issued soon.