Hanoi, Vietnam, July 6, 2020 —IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a financing package of $75 million to Phu My Hung Development Corporation to help sustain its property development operations, in the wake of COVID-19 impacts. This investment will allow the company to extend financial relief to clients, suppliers, and contractors along its property value chain, helping preserve jobs and contributing to a resilient local economy.
Phu My Hung, an established real estate developer in Vietnam, supplies housing mainly in Ho Chi Minh City and also leases office and retail space to more than 300 businesses, most of which are small and medium enterprises. Business disruptions, caused by the impact of COVID-19 have affected the real estate developer’s clients, including lessees, homebuyers, suppliers, and contractors.
“Local businesses are the primary engines of job creation, which drive the national economy. With the COVID-19 situation, IFC’s support will enable us to extend financial relief to our local clients,” said Gary Tseng, CEO of Phu My Hung. “Subsequently, this will create a symbiotic ecosystem where we support each other with solutions that aid the economic recovery process after the COVID-19 crisis.”
This bond is the first IFC COVID-19 response project in Vietnam. It comes under the Real Sector Crisis Response Facility, which will provide $2 billion globally to IFC’s existing clients in health care, infrastructure, manufacturing, agriculture, and services industries to cope with the pandemic. Overall, IFC will provide $8 billion COVID-19 fast-track financing to support the private sector and preserve jobs across the world.
“Leveraging IFC’s experience from past shocks, IFC aims to harness the private sector to limit economic damage. Supporting local businesses in times of crisis is crucial, since they are the main drivers of employment in emerging economies,” said Vivek Pathak, IFC Regional Director for East Asia and the Pacific. “IFC’s support, an effective response to help ensure resiliency, shows our confidence in local businesses as well as our commitment to restore Vietnam’s economy to a sustainable growth path post-pandemic.”
The latest support comes after IFC helped Phu My Hung in 2019 expand its housing projects in Vietnam’s secondary provinces, aiming to improve local residents’ access to quality housing as well as education and health-care services.
“This funding will bolster Phu My Hung’s ability to cope with the challenges emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic including demand and supply chain disruptions,” said Kyle Kelhofer, IFC Country Manager for Vietnam, Cambodia and Lao PDR.
Having successfully contained the pandemic, Vietnam is now addressing the impacts of COVID-19 on its economy, especially in trade, services, and construction, the three most severely affected sectors. In February, IFC had increased trade finance limits for Vietnamese banks as a rapid response initiative to address, in advance, potential trade finance challenges triggered by the COVID-19 outbreak.
About IFC
IFC—a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2019, we invested more than $19 billion in private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org .
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