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DFC to boost financial inclusion in Vietnam
The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) approved 22 new transactions for the first quarter of 2025 on January 2, including a loan to Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank).
The DFC’s board of directors approved a $100 million loan to SeABank to increase access to finance and support economic empowerment across Vietnam.
The loan will expand upon $200 million in DFC financing committed in 2022 to SeABank to support individual entrepreneurs, small businesses, and climate adaptation and mitigation projects, with a focus on women borrowers and women-owned businesses.
Besides SeABank, in 2023, DFC has committed to grant more than $400 million in new financing to help expand access to finance for two major Vietnamese banks, VPBank and TPBank. These investments should bolster lending to small businesses across the country, including those owned by women, a group that has often faced significant challenges accessing finance.
Vietnam is the biggest recipient of DFC’s investments in ASEAN, with $737 million, followed by $526 million in Indonesia, and $80 million in the Philippines.
Globally, 22 new transactions, totalling nearly $3 billion, will advance key DFC priorities to promote health, energy, and food security; address the root causes of migration; revitalise critical infrastructure; support small businesses; and address other strategic and developmental imperatives in line with US foreign policy objectives.
VIR
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