Sembcorp, a Singaporean state-owned energy firm, has acquired a majority interest in three subsidiaries of GELEX Group, a Vietnam-based renewable energy company. This acquisition will add 196 MW of wind and solar assets to its portfolio in Vietnam, according to a press release from the firm.
The company will also acquire a 73 percent stake in a subsidiary of Gelex, which owns a 49 MW hydropower asset, after which Sembcorp’s renewables capacity in Vietnam will sit at around 455MW.
Of note, Vietnam ranked second in attracting FDI in renewable energy among developing economies from 2015 to 2022, according to the UN Trade and Development World Investment Report 2023. Key foreign investors in renewables in Vietnam are GE Renewable Energy, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, and Enterprize Energy.
Furthermore, at a meeting with the leaders of Ninh Thuan province earlier this month, Spanish EDP Renewables announced that it intends to invest over US$1 billion in Vietnamese renewable energy development by 2025.
This is partly because Vietnam’s renewable energy potential is huge but has not been fully exploited. By the end of 2023, the total installed capacity of wind and solar power in Vietnam reached 4,948.5 MW and 17,077 MW or around 0.6 percent and 1.8 percent of their total potential, respectively.
Furthermore, Vietnam is also seeking foreign capital and advanced technology from developed countries to transition from conventional fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. It is estimated that about US$120 to US$140 billion is needed to implement its latest power development plan known locally as the PDP8. With this in mind, Vietnam’s growing renewable energy market could provide broad investment opportunities for foreign firms.
See also: Electricity in Vietnam: Foreign Investor Cheat Sheet 2024