Vietnam Environment Protection Fund, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Research Institute for Banking, Banking Academy of Vietnam, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2022 Nov;29(54):81234-81255. doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-21583-2. Epub 2022 Jun 22.
The Environment Fund is a state financial institution and a non-profit organization, operating mainly in concessional loans with low-interest rates for green investment projects, working towards sustainable development. There have been no studies to assess the firms' ability to access environmental finance from these Environment Funds. This study uses a combination of both qualitative and quantitative methods. We initially identified the determinants of access to green finance and financing constraints that firms face by in-depth interviews with 32 individuals from the six largest Environment Funds in Vietnam and their clients. Secondly, by surveying 213 firms that had loan request from 26 Environment Funds, we investigated the factors affecting access to environmental finance by the Ordered Probit model. The findings show that firm characteristics and environmental project characteristics have a relationship vis-a-vis access to green finance. We did not find evidence that supports state-owned firms experiencing less financing constraints than other types of firms. Collateral requirements, excessive paperwork requirements, and insufficient capital from Environment Funds are the three main obstacles to green financing. Environment Funds should design loan packages that are more diversified and suitable for different types of environmental projects. At the same time, a more relaxed collateral policy should be applied in Environment Funds to enhance firms' ability to obtain green finance. We suggest that Environment Funds cooperate with commercial banks to provide financial support for the environment to compensate for capital size constraints and asymmetric information.
环境基金是一家国家金融机构和非营利组织，主要以优惠利率的绿色投资项目贷款形式运营，致力于可持续发展。目前还没有研究评估这些环境基金的公司获取环境资金的能力。本研究采用定性和定量相结合的方法。我们首先通过对越南最大的六家环境基金及其客户的 32 人进行深入访谈，确定了获取绿色金融和企业面临的融资约束的决定因素。其次，通过对 26 家环境基金的 213 家有贷款申请的企业进行调查，我们利用有序概率模型研究了影响企业获取环境金融的因素。研究结果表明，企业特征和环境项目特征与获取绿色金融之间存在一定的关系。我们没有发现证据表明国有企业比其他类型的企业面临较少的融资约束。抵押品要求、过多的文书工作要求和环境基金的资金不足是绿色融资的三个主要障碍。环境基金应设计更多样化、更适合不同类型环境项目的贷款组合。同时，环境基金应放宽抵押品政策，以提高企业获取绿色金融的能力。我们建议环境基金与商业银行合作，为环境提供金融支持，以弥补资本规模限制和信息不对称问题。
