On July 10, the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies (HIDS), in collaboration with Climateworks Center at Monash University of Australia, held a consultation workshop on mobilizing finance for emissions reduction projects in industrial parks.
The workshop was part of Phase 2 of the Vietnam Net Zero Industrial Parks (NZIP) Initiative.
Opening the event, HIDS Deputy Director Pham Binh An, said Phase 2 of the NZIP initiative has introduced two pilot financing models at the Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) and the Becamex VSIP Industrial Park. The research team is focusing on addressing two key bottlenecks including stimulating demand for low-emission construction materials and unlocking financing for precinct-level decarbonization projects.
Speaking at the workshop, Phat Pumchawsaun, Head of Southeast Asia at Climateworks Center, said the biggest challenge is attracting investment into low-carbon industries. However, Climateworks' analysis shows that the financing gap for industrial transition is structural, as demand remains fragmented and risk-sharing mechanisms are still lacking.
Kate Wallace, Australian Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, said Australia is delivering on its support commitments through financial initiatives, including the AUD250 million Australian Development Investments (ADI) impact investment fund and a US$75 million loan to VPBank to support green finance and essential infrastructure projects in Vietnam.
At the workshop, Tran Van Bich, former Head of the Economic Development Division at HIDS, presented an overview of Ho Chi Minh City's industrial development strategy. The city currently accounts for more than 20 percent of the country's industrial output and manages 116 industrial park projects covering more than 48,464 hectares. It has identified high-tech manufacturing, electronics and food processing as its core industrial sectors.
He said Ho Chi Minh City aims to restructure its industrial sector between 2030 and 2045 toward a green, high-tech and high value-added model, gradually reducing resource-intensive and polluting industries while prioritizing strategic sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology and advanced materials.
A key objective is to transform existing industrial parks into smart, eco-industrial parks integrated with greenhouse gas inventories and the development of a carbon credit market.
