UK Export Finance is planning up to $2.5 billion in financing to help Ho Chi Minh City extend its metro line to Long Thanh International Airport. The deal highlights the UK's role in supporting Vietnam's economic transformation through financial services and infrastructure development.
The financing deal signifies the UK's growing role in supporting Vietnam's infrastructure development, potentially unlocking significant capital for major projects and strengthening bilateral economic ties. It also highlights the increasing reliance on blended finance and export credit for large-scale public works in emerging markets.
Ho Chi Minh City commuters may soon have a new way to bypass traffic jams with the planned extension of the city's metro line to Long Thanh International Airport. UK Export Finance (UKEF), the UK's export credit agency, is considering providing up to $2.5 billion in financing for the project. This initiative is part of a broader UK effort to support Vietnam's economic transformation through financial services and infrastructure development.
UKEF's involvement underscores the importance of export credit agencies in financing large-scale infrastructure projects, particularly in developing economies. These agencies typically offer loans with longer tenors and softer interest rates than commercial lenders, often requiring a certain percentage of the financed goods and services to be sourced from the exporting country. While export credit can cover equipment and services, it usually leaves domestic costs like land acquisition and civil works to be financed through other means, such as blended finance or public-private partnerships (PPPs).
The UK has committed at least £5 billion (approximately $6.5 billion) to support projects in Vietnam, with a memorandum of understanding signed in October 2025 between Vietnam's Ministry of Finance and UKEF aiming to deepen collaboration. Beyond infrastructure, the UK is also assisting Vietnam in expanding access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises and advancing the green transition, including engagement with energy companies for offshore wind projects.