(Front, L-R) Nguyen Thanh Long, Chairman of VNX; Laetitia Hamon, Head of Sustainable Finance at LuxSE; (behind, L-R) Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chính; Yuriko Backes, Luxembourg's Minister of Finance;
Credit: SIP / Jean-Christophe Verhaegen
On Friday 9 December 2022, in the context of the official visit to Luxembourg of Vietnam's Prime Minister Pham Minh Chính, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) and the Vietnam Stock Exchange (VNX) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on sustainable finance.
The MoU signing ceremony took place in the presence of Prime Minister Pham Minh Chính and Luxembourg's Minister of Finance, Yuriko Backes.
"Sustainable finance represents an opportunity to further strengthen economic and financial relations between Vietnam and Luxembourg. Thanks to its international financial centre and its expertise in sustainable investment and blended finance, Luxembourg can support Vietnam in its efforts to decarbonise its economy. In this context, I welcome the MoU on sustainable finance that the Luxembourg Stock Exchange has signed with Vietnam Exchange", said Minister Backes.
The MoU places a specific focus on cooperation in the field of sustainable finance. The two institutions have committed to working together to promote and develop sustainable finance activities in their respective markets, organise educational activities to strengthen sustainable finance knowledge among market participants and foster awareness among issuers and investors of environmental, social and governance (ESG) information disclosure and ESG disclosure standards.
"We are pleased to join forces with Vietnam Exchange and help advance the sustainable finance agenda in new markets. Sustainable finance needs to become a priority across international capital markets and as exchanges, we need to work together and share knowledge and experience to make this happen. Through LGX, we serve 260 issuers of sustainable debt instruments across different sectors and geographies. Our team of sustainable finance experts have built unique expertise in this field and are well placed to help VNX promote and develop sustainable finance initiatives in Vietnam", said Laetitia Hamon, Head of Sustainable Finance at LuxSE.
VNX is a state-owned company based in Hanoi. It was established in August 2021 as a result of the merger of Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange and Hanoi Stock Exchange. VNX and its subsidiaries operate three secondary markets for equity, fixed income and derivatives trading. The MoU with LuxSE is the first agreement of this kind entered into by VNX.
Development cooperation between Luxembourg and Vietnam started in 1993. Initially focused on economic development and poverty reduction, the focus is now on diversifying the fields of cooperation to also cover the financial sector, sustainable development and professional training. The MoU between LuxSE and VNX reflects this diversification into new areas of collaboration.
LuxSE has already been involved in a project related to sustainable finance in Vietnam. Last year, in cooperation with the Global Green Growth Initiative, LuxSE's sustainable finance experts provided training courses to around 50 representatives from selected public and private entities in Vietnam and helped foster knowledge and build capacity with regards to the process of issuing sustainable debt instruments.
