Vietnam’s growth plans face $200 billion funding gap

Vietnam needs far more capital than its domestic banking system can supply if it is to meet its growth targets, Techcombank CEO Jens Lottner told Fortune. The country faces a $200 billion financing shortfall for transport, energy and digital infrastructure as Hanoi pushes for faster expansion.

Vietnam’s economy grew by just over 8% in 2025, according to Fortune. The government wants annual growth of 10% by 2030 and high-income status by 2045, a goal Fortune said would require per capita gross national income to triple.

Lottner told Fortune that the scale of required investment makes overseas funding essential. FTSE is expected to upgrade Vietnam to secondary emerging market status in September, which could draw more foreign equity, but Lottner estimated the inflow at only $3 billion to $5 billion.

That would be small against what he described as $1.1 trillion in total investment needs. Lottner said Vietnam’s banks cannot fund all planned infrastructure because the local deposit base is too limited.

Techcombank seeks a role in early financing

Techcombank has committed about $3 billion to national infrastructure projects, many started in the past six months, according to Fortune. Lottner said the bank aims to finance early stages of projects, then restructure loans so other investors can join after two to three years.

He told Fortune that Techcombank could act as a marker for overseas investors assessing Vietnamese projects and companies. His goal is to attract as much as five dollars of outside co-investment for each dollar the bank provides.

Techcombank, founded in 1993, is one of Vietnam’s largest private banks, Fortune reported. The bank posted $3.52 billion in revenue in 2025, up 5.7%, and profit rose 13% to $972.5 million. Fortune ranked Techcombank No. 103 on its Southeast Asia 500 list, three places higher than in 2025.

Lottner, a German executive who became CEO in 2020 after roles at McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group and Siam Commercial Bank, is also reshaping the bank around artificial intelligence. He told Fortune the bank is working toward a model in which AI agents handle routine work while employees focus on risk, customer relationships and innovation.

The bank is also using a $1 million scholarship tied to Vietnam’s National AI Challenge to identify technical talent, Fortune reported. Lottner said the competition could give Techcombank visibility into 1,000 of the country’s strongest data engineers and scientists.

Wealth, energy and aging add pressure

Vietnam’s rising incomes are creating new banking opportunities. Eastspring Investments has forecast that Vietnam’s middle class, which accounted for 13% of the population in 2023, could double by 2026, while Knight Frank’s 2026 wealth report said the ultra-high-net-worth population could grow by almost 60% by 2031.

Lottner told Fortune that Techcombank plans expanded wealth-management services for Vietnamese clients with more than $5 million in assets, including private credit. The bank also plans to build up Techcom Securities, which listed in Vietnam last September and raised 10.8 trillion dong, or $410 million, according to Fortune.

Energy remains a constraint on Vietnam’s plans. The World Bank expects Vietnam’s GDP to grow 6.3% this year, while the Asian Development Bank forecasts 7.2%, both below Hanoi’s 10% target, according to Fortune.

Vietnam relies on imported fuels, and Argus Media reported that coal imports reached a record 65.43 million tonnes in 2025. Fortune reported that the country tapped its emergency fuel fund to stabilize prices during oil-market strain linked to the Iran war, while local airlines cut flights after jet fuel prices rose.

Hanoi also signed an agreement with Russia in March to cooperate on building Southeast Asia’s first operational nuclear power plant, the Associated Press reported. The project is expected to come online in the next decade.

Lottner told Fortune that power supply is already a concern for large technology companies considering data centers in Vietnam. The International Energy Agency has said a typical AI data center can use as much electricity as 100,000 households, with the largest facilities under construction consuming 20 times that amount.

Demographics add another deadline. The United Nations Population Fund projects that more than 25% of Vietnam’s population will be 60 or older by 2050, and Lottner told Fortune that the country needs to complete much of its investment push within the next 20 years.

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.