On 26 May 2022, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), Mr. Le Cong Thanh - Deputy Minister of MONRE and Mr. Le Ngoc Lam – Chief Executive Officer of the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), represented the two parties to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation on promoting green finance, sustainable development, environmental protection and response to climate change.

Addressing the signing ceremony, Mr. Tran Hong Ha - Minister of MONRE emphasized that the cooperation between MONRE and BIDV in the fields of natural resources, environment and climate change will promote the formation and development of green bonds, green credit, and carbon market; facilitate businesses’ participation in activities aimed at protecting the environment, responding to climate change, energy conversion, and economic development towards low-carbon; as well as communication activities, capacity building in the management of land, environment, and mineral resources...

Representatives of MONRE and BIDV signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

The MOU between MONRE and BIDV will give businesses access to funds from banks, thereby attracting investment flows in climate change response, economic model transition towards low-carbon and energy conversion projects for the nation's sustainable development, while strengthening the role of the financial-banking sector in attracting, encouraging and supporting domestic economic sectors to participate in activities towards reducing environmental pollution, responding to climate change, and sustainable business development.

Under the MOU, MONRE will also support BIDV to strengthen its capability in environmental risk assessment and to develop criteria for environmental risk assessment on projects – the prerequisite for the development of sustainable financial products following international practices and suitable for the Vietnamese market.

Mr. Phan Duc Tu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of BIDV, shared: “BIDV is a State-owned commercial bank that always pursues a sustainable development strategy with a high social responsibility. BIDV has actively been implementing important transition plans for itself and for customers, towards a sustainable future. The MOU between MONRE and BIDV will send out positive signals about opportunities for companionship and partnership between regulators, commercial banks and the business community in shaping the market development direction, formulating solutions and actions to tackle issues of environmental protection and climate change response, which will be strategic priorities in the fields of business, finance and banking, contributing to the effective delivery of the green strategy in Vietnam as well as the international commitments that Vietnam has signed.”

In recent years, climate change is considered a serious challenge on a global scale, particularly for developing countries, which are vulnerable to and heavily affected by climate change, such as Vietnam. At the COP26 held in November 2021 in the UK, the Prime Minister of Vietnam made a commitment on achieving net-zero emissions by 2050; while making several initiatives that showed Vietnam’s determination and responsibility to work alongside the international communities in efforts to respond to global climate change. The timely implementation of Vietnam's commitments at COP26 will bring great and long-term benefits to the country's sustainable development; nevertheless, it also requires large financial resources and efficient coordination between the regulators and the business community. Against that backdrop, the role of the financial - banking sector should be promoted as a lever and catalyst in the development of actions and projects to address climate and sustainability challenges.

About MONRE

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) performs the function of state management in 09 fields: Land; Water resources; Mineral and Geological resources; Environment; Hydrometeorology; Climate change; Surveying and Mapping; Integrated natural resources management and sea and islands environment protection; and Remote sensing. Currently, MONRE is assigned by the Prime Minister to be the standing body of the National Steering Committee for implementing Vietnam's commitments at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26).

About BIDV

Established in 1957, BIDV is the largest commercial bank in Vietnam with total assets reaching more than VND1.76 quadrillion, boasting an extensive network of more than 1,100 domestic and foreign branches and transaction offices, and partnerships with more than 2,300 financial institutions globally as at 31 December 2021. BIDV has achieved various positive results in the green finance, particularly being the market leader in renewable energy financing with a credit size of more than USD1.7 billion by the end of 2021, accounting for 36% of outstanding credit for renewable energy in Vietnam. At the same time, BIDV has wide experience and high capacity in receiving and implementing international credit projects from international financial institutions with regard to programs and projects for sustainable goals.

For further information, please contact:

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Climate Change Department Tel: +84.24.37759431 Email: dcc@monre.gov.vn Website: http://www.dcc.gov.vn

Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam JSC. Financial Institutions Tel: +84.24.22205544 ext: 6835 Email: bandctc@bidv.com.vn Website: www.bidv.com.vn