Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang met with Mariam Sherman, World Bank division director for Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos in Hanoi on March 21 to discuss upcoming projects using official development assistance (ODA).

At the meeting, Minister Thang explained that the amended Law on Bidding had been in effect since January 15, decentralising the approval process to cut down the time needed for the disbursement of loans.

Based on the decree guiding the implementation of the amended law issued in February, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) submitted a decision on the bidding of Binh Duong wastewater treatment scheme and the southern waterway corridor development to the government, which issued a resolution approving the loans on March 19. The resolutions have since been submitted to the president for approval.

“The MoF will conduct meetings with localities to remove obstacles for ODA projects, including those of the World Bank. This will help accelerate progress on projects set to be disbursed this year and beyond,” said the minister.

Mariam Sherman thanked Thang for these solutions and proposed some initiatives to remove obstacles for projects that need to be implemented soon, such as the renewable energy enhanced transmission grid, and projects that are currently being implemented and negotiated.

“The aim of Vietnam and the World Bank is to ensure that the schedule and objectives of this capital mobilisation drive are met,” said Sherman.

According to Sherman, the combined value of the World Bank’s list of projects is about $11.2 billion, targeting key areas such as growth innovation, economic restructuring, energy conversion, and climate change response.

“To achieve the high growth rate set out by the government and National Assembly, foreign loans, including those from the World Bank, will play a vital role,” said Minister Thang.

The minister shared the government’s viewpoint that between 2026 and 2030, ODA is expected to pour into key projects such as expressways, railways, high-speed railways, energy infrastructure, climate change resilience, and digital infrastructure.

“With the government’s objective of high economic growth over the next few years, cooperation between Vietnam and the World Bank will be extensive,” he said.

Minister Thang expressed his appreciation for Sherman’s contributions to accelerating the progress of ODA-funded ventures. He also requested the World Bank to consider further simplifying and harmonising procedures, as well as consider finding ways to reduce interest rates for high-priority projects.

According to the Monetary Policy Department under the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), 23 different commercial banks adjusted their interest rates between February 25 and March 18.

The rate cuts from banks including BVBank, MSB, VietBank, Saigonbank, BIDV, Techcombank, VietinBank, and ABBank, ranged from 0.1-1 per cent, depending on the term, with most cuts around 0.1 per cent across various tenors.

Photo: baodautu.vn

Meanwhile, lending rates have also decreased by 0.8 per cent since the beginning of the year.

Along with actively directing banks to cut costs and lower lending rates to support business development, the SBV has also been intensifying efforts to bridge banks and businesses.

As a result, businesses have revealed that accessing capital has become easier than before, and lending rates are more reasonable. Some firms, however, report that current long-term lending rates are still relatively high.

For instance, Nguyen Van Chien, director of An Phu Steel Structure Co., Ltd. based in the northern province of Bac Ninh, said that his company is currently borrowing short-term capital from Vietcombank at an interest rate of 6-6.5 per cent, per year.

“We hope to borrow longer-term capital at more reasonable interest rate in the future so we can access land funds and expand our production and business,” said Chien.

Meanwhile, many businesses want the banking sector to offer more preferential credit packages for specific sectors.

Minh Tam, chairman of Ba Tuong Production-Trading-Service Co., Ltd. based in the southern province of Binh Thuan, proposed that the banking sector create additional preferential interest rate packages to support agriculture, particularly in green agriculture.

According to the SBV, the average lending rate decreased by 1.3 per cent between the start and end of 2023. In 2024, the average lending rate decreased by 1.4 per cent. From the beginning of 2025 until now, lending rates have diminished by 0.8 per cent.

Doan Ngoc Luu, deputy general director of Agribank, reduced lending rates four times last year, bringing them down nearly 2 per cent compared to 2023, placing it among the lowest in the market.

For foreign invested businesses in the northern region, Agribank introduced a low-interest loan package with rates ranging from 2.4 per cent to 3.9 per cent, per year.

Nguyen Viet Cuong, deputy CEO of state major Vietcombank, said, “Since 2023, we have consistently lowered interest rates to support economic development. In line with SBV’s directives, Vietcombank has pioneered maintaining a low interest-rate environment, and cutting costs to reduce lending rates.”

Financial analysts assume that the low interest rates would persist at least until the end of 2025 to support development.

The SBV continues to maintain an accommodative monetary policy to stimulate credit, but there is little room for further rate reductions, along with continued focus on controlling inflation and stabilising the exchange rate.

Airbus should conduct technology transfer and further cooperate with Vietnamese airlines, especially in opening aircraft repair and maintenance hangars at airports.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh made the suggestion at a Friday meeting with French Minister of Transport Philippe Tabarot, as part of further collaboration between Vietnam and France in transportation.

Airbus is now the biggest aircraft supplier for Vietnamese airlines.

Chinh also called on France to collaborate with Vietnam in aviation economy, aerospace and underwater exploitation, seaport, railway, launch of new transportation routes to Vietnam, and public-private partnerships (PPP) in road development.

The government chief suggested France help Vietnam with workforce training, technology transfer, preferential loans, and management in the transport sector.

Development of logistics infrastructure can lift Vietnam’s economic growth as logistics cost in Vietnam is now as high as 17-18% of the GDP, Chinh clarified.

In reply, the French minister said France is willing to boost the ties with Vietnam in transport, especially in deployment of key projects, workforce training, and high-speed railway.

Vietnamese Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang last week suggested Airbus study and invest in making components and developing the aviation industry in Vietnam.

Thang also called on Airbus to support its partners and French companies to expand investments in Vietnam, especially in developing the supporting industry, technology transfer, innovation, green technology, and helping Vietnamese firms further join the global supply chain.