The OPEC Fund for International Development has extended a $50-million loan to Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank, while Masan High-Tech Materials has entered into a long-term partnership with South Korea’s GB Innovation to process tungsten concentrate into higher-value tungsten chemicals.
OPEC Fund provides $50m loan to SeABank
The OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) has extended a $50-million loan to Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank) to expand financing for small businesses and climate-related investments in Vietnam.
The funding will enable SeABank to increase lending to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which account for about half of employment in Vietnam but continue to face a significant financing gap. Part of the proceeds will also be directed towards energy efficiency, green buildings, rooftop solar, and electric mobility projects.
“Small businesses are central to Vietnam’s economy and an important source of jobs and growth. This financing will help more companies access the capital they need to invest and expand while supporting practical climate solutions that can strengthen competitiveness and resilience,” said OPEC Fund President Abdulhamid Alkhalifa.
The new loan agreement strengthens the partnership between SeABank and the OPEC Fund that began in 2022 with a first loan in support of local SMEs, including women-owned businesses, as well as climate projects.
Le Thu Thuy, SeABank’s Vice Chairwoman of the Board of Directors, said, “This financing marks an important milestone in our partnership with the OPEC Fund, reinforcing SeABank’s commitment to inclusive and sustainable growth. It also advances our role as a financial intermediary in mobilising and channeling international capital to support Viet Nam’s sustainable development priorities.
Masan High-Tech Materials partners with GB Innovation
Vietnam’s Masan High-Tech Materials (MSR) has entered into a long-term partnership with South Korea’s GB Innovation (GBI) to process tungsten concentrate into higher-value tungsten chemicals, strengthening a non-China supply chain for the critical mineral.
Under the agreement, MSR will use its tungsten refining and chemicals facility in Vietnam to convert GBI’s tungsten concentrate into ammonium paratungstate (APT) and tungsten oxide products.
The deal provides MSR with committed third-party feedstock while increasing utilixation of its refining platform. Conversion fees will be linked to the Fastmarkets APT index and protected by a floor mechanism, offering downside margin protection, greater earnings visibility, and more stable refinery utilisation.
The partnership also positions MSR as a key midstream processor in the global tungsten supply chain outside China. While South Korea has upstream tungsten resources, including GBI’s targeted production of about 200,000 tonnes of run-of-mine ore annually, it lacks large-scale processing capacity to convert concentrate into higher-value industrial products.
MSR said the additional third-party concentrate will support higher refinery utilisation and its planned expansion of tungsten oxide capacity to more than 8,000 tonnes per year, backed by its resource base at Nui Phao, the Nui Phao expansion, and Nui Chiem projects.
