The effect of sustainable finance capital for Vietnam

Sustainable finance represents a fundamental shift in how credit, price risk, and capital are allocated, integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations into investment decisions, risk management, and corporate strategy.

- By Benson Shum

Why does this matter for all economies? The UN has estimated that the world will need to invest between $3 trillion and $5 trillion annually to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Financial systems that ignore sustainability realities expose themselves to systemic risk.

Mature markets have led the way. According to the Luxembourg for Finance 2025 Reality Check on ESG report, global sustainable investment fund assets reached $3 trillion in 2024, double their 2019 level, with Europe accounting for 85 per cent of that market. Yet progress is not linear. The report also finds that less than 4 per cent of capital markets financing in 2024 went to ‘good’ ESG-aligned companies. This is not a shortage of willing capital. It is not a lack of corporate good intentions. The issue is data mobility.

Divergent global standards, weak verification mechanisms, and compliance costs for smaller firms are real problems. But without the ability to move data reliably across borders, systems, and trust boundaries, none of those other challenges can even be addressed.

Academics studying the EU’s sustainable finance strategy have arrived at a stark conclusion: at its core, this is a data strategy. It requires the datafication of the entire European financial, production, and services sectors. You cannot move capital sustainably if you cannot move data reliably.

Why now for Vietnam

Vietnam has made genuine progress. Green credit grew at over 21 per cent annually from 2017 to late 2025, outpacing overall credit growth. But here is the gap: green credit still accounts for barely 5 per cent of total outstanding credit. That gap is an urgent opportunity.