Green finance, carbon markets emerge as key focus for Danang's VIFC

Green finance, carbon markets emerge as key focus for Danang's VIFC

Green finance and carbon markets are taking shape as key areas of development for the Vietnam International Financial Centre (VIFC) in Danang, alongside efforts to build the regulatory, technological, and human-capital foundations needed to support new financial activities.

The direction was highlighted at the VIFC-ACCA Forum 2026 in Danang - Legal Framework, Priority Sectors, Products and Investment Opportunities, co-hosted by the Executive Agency of VIFC Danang and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) at the Danang City Administrative Centre on September 18.

The forum examined the legal framework for financial activities at VIFC Danang, the centre’s priority sectors, potential financial products and investment opportunities, as well as the skills and capabilities required by businesses and finance professionals.

Green finance, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards, carbon markets, and sustainable financial products were the focus of the second session, with speakers discussing the development of the carbon credit market and opportunities for new products at the centre.

Delegates at the VIFC-ACCA Forum 2026 in Danang. Photo: ACCA Vietnam

Helen Brand, chief executive of ACCA, said sustainability and the ESG agenda were becoming increasingly important to international investors.

“A commitment to long-term sustainability, as well as the ESG agenda, is an increasingly powerful magnet for international investors, and Vietnam has emerged as an influential and far-sighted leader in this area,” said Brand.

“ACCA has been an architect and a leader in international sustainability reporting standards, which can sound like a dry subject, but the success or failure of internationally agreed actions on how we measure results in business could not be more important. It will decide whether our businesses, even our economic models, live or die in the years to come.”

She also pointed to the importance of professional capabilities as the financial centre develops.

“Our members are trained and educated to thrive on the global stage, and they possess the spirit of enterprise which is essential in sustaining the growth of any financial centre. We look forward to working with Danang to make this ambition a reality,” she added.

The development of new financial activities will require the centre to provide a clear route for innovations to reach the market, according to Kevin Bruce Iwanaga, senior advisor, Strategy at the Executive Agency of VIFC Danang.

Iwanaga said VIFC Danang could serve as Vietnam’s laboratory for future finance. Turning that ambition into reality would require fast and transparent regulation, closer cooperation between government and industry, access to banks, investors and technology partners, and strong digital infrastructure.

“This is the right direction because finance itself is changing. It’s becoming more digital, real time, data driven, AI-enabled, and cross-border. Compared to other IFCs, VIFC Danang can compete differently: through speed, innovation, regulatory agility, and direct connection to Vietnam’s economy. The goal is to make Danang one of the best places in Asia to turn a financial innovation into a scalable business,” he said.

Danang is one of two locations under Vietnam’s dual-city International Financial Centre model. Its development is based on the city’s strengths and priority areas within the national framework.

The framework provides for the full adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and International Accounting Standards (IAS). It also offers a corporate income tax rate of 10 per cent for 30 years in priority sectors, personal income tax exemptions for qualifying international experts and managers until the end of 2030, and residency of up to 10 years for those experts and their families.

English is recognised as an operational language, while foreign worker quotas do not apply.

The development of sustainable finance at VIFC Danang also comes alongside ACCA’s long-standing work on sustainability reporting in the region.

ACCA leads the ASEAN Sustainability Reporting Advocacy Collaborative, which supports ASEAN economies in adopting international sustainability reporting standards, including those developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board.

In Vietnam, ACCA has chaired the Sustainability Reporting Awards for more than 11 years under the Vietnam Listed Company Awards, organised by the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange and the Hanoi Stock Exchange with technical sponsorship from the International Finance Corporation. The awards support the country’s National Green Growth Strategy for 2021-2030.

The forum marked ACCA’s 25 years in Vietnam. Since opening its representative office in 2001 as the first international professional accountancy body with a permanent presence in the country, ACCA has grown from 11 members to more than 1,300 members and over 7,000 future members.

The organisation has helped develop close to 10,000 internationally qualified professionals. Proceedings continued in the afternoon with a strategic dialogue between city leadership, experts, and investors at the headquarters of VIFC Danang.

VIR