Vietnam urged to widen long-term funding channels for infrastructure

Vietnam needs financing options beyond bank loans to support its investment plans, according to investment and financial services executives. Dinh Duc Minh, senior investment director at VinaCapital Fund Management JSC, cited official projections putting total investment for 2026-30 at approximately ₫38.5 quadrillion, more than double the 2021-25 amount.

Minh said infrastructure spending was expected to increase from around 4-5 per cent of GDP in previous years to approximately 7 per cent. Railways, expressways and airports would receive substantial public investment, while businesses would also require funding. He cautioned that banks faced constraints from capital adequacy requirements and a shortage of long-term deposits relative to demand for longer-term loans.

Voluntary pension funds and corporate bonds offered scope to broaden financing, Minh said. He also called for better-quality listed companies, stronger market oversight and investment opportunities spanning more sectors. Despite an increase in foreign institutional investors, overseas ownership had tended to fall as foreign investors continued selling on a net basis in recent years, he said.

Allan Nguyen, chairman of EzyRemit Worldwide Co. Ltd., identified Australia's superannuation system, with assets approaching AU$4.8 trillion by mid-2026, as a potential source of infrastructure funding. He said pension funds' investment horizons of up to 20-30 years suited assets such as airports, seaports, energy facilities and expressways.

To attract those funds, Nguyen urged Vietnam to improve legal certainty, develop suitable long-term investment products and strengthen governance and transparency. He also proposed trial infrastructure co-investment platforms involving government and institutional investors, alongside a stronger capital-connecting role for the Vietnam International Financial Center.