A view of Hà Nội's elevated urban train. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) announced that it had issued Official Dispatch No 10825/NHNN-TD on Friday, providing guidance on the implementation of a credit programme of VNĐ500 trillion or US$20 billion for investment in power infrastructure, transport and strategic technologies. The guidance is also based on feedback from relevant ministries and the participation registrations submitted by commercial banks.

According to the SBV, the programme will be implemented in two phases. During the 2025–2026 period, commercial banks will allocate around VNĐ100 trillion, equivalent to about 20 per cent of the programme’s total scale, to provide preferential loans for projects in power infrastructure, transport and strategic technologies. In the 2027–2030 phase, the remaining capital will be gradually disbursed, ensuring that lending does not exceed each bank’s committed amount.

Eligible borrowers are enterprises seeking long-term loans to invest in nationally important or key projects in the power, transport and strategic technology sectors, as identified by relevant ministries. For power projects, the eligible list follows the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Official Dispatch No 9238/BCT-KHTC dated November 21, 2025. Transport projects must be included in the list under Official Dispatch No 14394/BXD-KHTC dated December 2, 2025, from the Ministry of Construction.

For strategic technologies, eligible projects include those producing items listed in the “National Strategic Technology and Strategic Technology Products List” approved under Decision No 1131/QĐ-TTg dated June 12, 2025, and certified by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Preferential interest rates under the programme will be at least 1–1.5 percentage points per year lower than the average lending rates applied by the same bank for loans of similar tenors. Lending will follow existing mechanisms, with no changes to standard credit procedures.

The programme will remain in effect until the end of 2030 or until total disbursements reach VNĐ500 trillion, whichever comes first. Preferential interest rates will apply for a minimum of two years from each disbursement date, under individual loan agreements, but will not exceed the agreed loan tenor. Banks will stop applying preferential rates to loans disbursed after December 31, 2030, or once their registered funding allocation under the programme has been fully used.

After the preferential period ends, lending rates will be negotiated between banks and borrowers in accordance with legal regulations and clearly specified, or with a clear calculation method outlined, in the loan agreement. If a bank determines that a borrower has used funds for improper purposes, the preferential interest rate will be terminated, and the borrower will be required to repay the full amount of interest previously subsidised, calculated from the disbursement date to the termination date.

Loans under the programme will be financed entirely from banks’ own mobilised capital. Participating banks are responsible for credit appraisal, lending decisions and associated risks, and must comply with regulations on loan classification, provisioning and risk management. The SBV has also tasked its functional departments with monitoring implementation, addressing emerging difficulties, and conducting inspections and supervision of programme lending activities. VNS