HCM CITY — HSBC Bank (Vietnam) Ltd on May 18 announced it had arranged a VNĐ800 billion (US$31 million), five-year financing facility with a 90 per cent guarantee from Export Finance Australia (EFA) for Nutifood Nutrition Food JSC (Nutifood).

The funding will support the construction of a pedestrian bridge connecting Bạch Đằng Wharf Park and the Thủ Thiêm New Urban Area across the Saigon River in HCM City.

Under the transaction, HSBC acted as ECA coordinator, mandated lead arranger, facility agent, security agent and original lender.

According to HSBC Vietnam, the VNĐ-denominated financing is designed to align with Nutifood’s local funding requirements while benefiting from EFA’s guarantee coverage.

The bank said the transaction supports the development of social infrastructure in HCM City and demonstrates how export credit agency-backed financing structures can provide local-currency funding solutions for projects delivering community benefits.

The deal also marks several firsts for the Vietnamese financial market, including the first-ever export credit agency-supported financing denominated in Vietnamese đồng and the first ECA-supported transaction booked onshore by HSBC Vietnam.

It is also HSBC’s first EFA-guaranteed financing for a project-related corporate loan under EFA’s untied Indo-Pacific Sustainable Infrastructure mandate. — BIZHUB