Vietnam held its first ESG Investor Conference on June 1, 2023 at the New World Saigon Hotel, presented by Raise Partners and Vietcetera Media. The two day event drew nearly 400 attendees and 50 speakers from leading investment funds, including Dynam Capital, Vietnam Holding, Climate Fund Managers, Sarona Asset Management, EMIIF, and Patamar Capital, to explore what high yield, transparent, ESG aligned investment looks like in Vietnam.
Vietnam’s ESG opportunities and challenges
Craig Martin of Dynam Capital pointed to urbanization, clean energy, and rising investor demand for sustainable assets as fertile ground, while flagging real estate and plastic waste management as key risks, and called for clearer, more comparable ESG metrics.
Inclusive opportunities in workforce and leadership
Panelists from Beacon Fund, Ascend Vietnam Ventures, and Sarona Asset Management discussed how deliberately tracking gender and diversity in portfolios improved outcomes, using AVV’s shift from all male led early investments as a case study.
Decarbonization and energy transition financing tied to the $15.5 billion Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP)
KPMG’s Ha Do outlining green energy opportunities in solar, wind, and offshore projects, alongside risks from delayed regulation.
Additional threads cover PNJ’s people first approach to ESG, Netflix’s diversity and inclusion strategy in Southeast Asian content, and Social Ventures Australia founder Michael Traill’s reflections on the long term case for impact investing. The piece closes on the idea that Vietnam is positioned to become a regional ESG frontrunner if investors and companies keep pushing for transparency and accountability, and that “asking questions initiates change.”
