Newsletter
Vietnam Infrastructure Spotlight - October 2021
Freshfields' Vietnam Infrastructure Spotlight keeps you up-to-date with the key business and legal developments in this sector. Please contact us if you would also like to receive our Vietnam M&A Spotlight, Vietnam Environment Spotlight or Vietnam Competition Law Spotlight.
LEGAL UPDATES
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh signed Decision 1410/QD-TTg (Decision 1410) on 17 August 2021 appointing the members of the National Steering Committee on Power Development (Power Development Committee) as follows:
No.1. Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh - Head of the Committee
No.2. Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien - Permanent Deputy Head
No.3. Mr. Cao Xuan Thanh, Assistant to former Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc - Deputy Head
No.4. Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Dang Hoang An - Deputy Head
No.5. Deputy Minister of Construction Le Quang Hung - Deputy Head
No.6. Vice Chairman of the State Capital Management Committee at Enterprises Ho Sy Hung - Deputy Head
No.7. Vice Chairman of Government Office Nguyen Cao Luc - Member
No.8. Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Vo Thanh Thong - Member
No.9. Deputy Minister of Finance Ta Anh Tuan - Member
No.10. Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan - Member
No.11. Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hoang Hiep - Member
No.12. Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Pham Cong Tac - Member
No.13. Deputy Governor of the State Bank of Vietnam Dao Minh Tu - Member
No.14. Chairman of the Board of Members of Vietnam Electricity Group Duong Quang Thanh - Member
No.15. Chairman of the Board of Members of Vietnam Oil and Gas Group Hoang Quoc Vuong - Member
No.16. Chairman of the Board of Members of Vietnam Coal and Mineral Industries Group Le Minh Chuan - Member
The Power Development Committee will be instrumental in finalizing the Power Development Masterplan VIII.
It will also direct:
- the implementation of important power projects,
- the implementation of the policies for electricity trading with foreign countries and the development of renewable energy,
- investment in and development of infrastructure for importing coal, natural gas including LNG and the negotiation of contracts for supply of coal and LNG for thermal power projects; and
Finally, and equally importantly, it will direct and coordinate the different government authorities and investors in implementation of projects and in addressing issues arising during the investment.
Source: Nhan Dan and Vietnam Energy
MARKET UPDATES
Power
- Don’t call Boris for the answer. International institutions are making plans to raise US$9-17 billion to buy back a number of coal-fired power plants that are currently operating in Vietnam, in order to shut them down as quickly as possible. While this could reduce greenhouse gas emissions drastically, it needs to be balanced with national energy security. Source: Vietnam Investment Review
Railways
- Two into one doesn’t go. The Committee for Management of State Capital at Enterprises (CMSC) has proposed merging Ha Noi and Sai Gon Railway Transport JSC, two companies owned by the Viet Nam Railways Corporation (VNR), in an effort to cut costs as the industry struggles with the impacts of Covid-19. The proposal to merge these two companies was first raised in 2018. Source: Vietnam News
- A long road trip. The Vietnamese government has set a target for the country to have more than 5,000km of expressways by 2030 and more than 9,000km by 2050. The master plan on the road network development was approved by the Prime Minister on 1 September 2021. To achieve this plan, the government will seek to optimize resources and promote the public-private partnership format. Source: Vn Express International
Aviation
- Soft landing. The State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) has disbursed VND6.9 trillion (US$300 million) and bought shares of the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines to help the airline overcome its difficulties amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The airline estimated its losses in H1 2021 at VND10 trillion (US$436 million). Source: Vietnam Investment Review
- Take-off. Bamboo Airways made its first flight on its direct route to the United States on 23 September 2021. Vietnam Airlines is also set to receive its final permit from U.S. authorities for conducting regular direct flights to the U.S. after nearly two decades of preparation. Source: Vn Express International and Vietnam Plus
LNG
- U.S. Representatives of American power producer AES Corporation and PetroVietnam Gas have just signed a joint venture agreement for the Son My LNG terminal located in Binh Thuan province in south central Vietnam. It took place in New York during the visit of Vietnam’s President. The terminal will involve investment of about US$1.4 billion. Source: Vietnam Investment Review
- South Korea. The consortium of Korea Gas Corporation, Hanwha Energy Corporation, Korea Southern Power, and T&T Group from Vietnam is awaiting the final nod from the Vietnamese government for its US$4.8 billion bid for Hai Lang LNG power plant in Quang Tri province. The consortium was the only participant to submit a bid for the plant at a tender organised by Quang Tri People’s Committee. Source: Vietnam Investment Review
- Malaysia. JAKS Resources Bhd. of Malaysia has entered into an MOU with T&T Group to explore collaboration to develop the 1,500MW Quang Ninh 2 LNG-to-power project in the northern province of Quang Ninh. JAKS entered the country’s power sector through the construction of the 1,200MW Hai Duong Power Plant, which commenced commercial operations in 2021. Source: The Edge Markets
Oil & Gas
- The new Lion King. Bitexco Energy Ltd. has signed a deal with Spain’s Repsol Exploración SA to buy Talisman Vietnam, a company that operates two southern offshore oil fields, the Hai Su Trang (White Sea Lion) and Hai Su Den (Black Sea Lion) located to the east of Vung Tau Province. Talisman currently holds 60 per cent of the oil and gas exploitation contract for the Block 15-2/01 offshore platform of Thang Long JSC. Source: Vn Express International
Renewable Energy
- Trial balloons in the wind. For years, numerous foreign financiers have been interested in developing onshore and offshore wind farms worth billions of US dollars in Vietnam. Most wind investors in Vietnam, and global wind communities as a whole, were taken aback when the latest draft of the National Power Development Plan VIII revised down long-term targets for wind power. Source: Vietnam Investment Review
- FITs and starts. Learning from the lessons of the previous feed-in-tariffs, which caused the domestic solar power market to be oversupplied, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is currently drafting new regulations on a mechanism to develop renewable energies, including rooftop solar power. The new policy will no longer have feed-in-tariffs and fixed preferential prices for the next 20 years. Source: Vietnam Investment Review
- Testing the water. Japanese utility Chubu Electric Power Co Inc. plans to buy a 20 per cent stake in Vietnamese renewable energy firm Bitexco Power Corp for an undisclosed sum. Under the deal, Chubu will purchase the stake from Japan’s Orix Corp and Singapore’s United Overseas Bank, and will buy new shares to be issued by Bitexco. Bitexco focuses on hydropower and solar, operating 21 hydropower stations and one solar power plant, with a generation capacity of about 798MW. This is Chubu’s first investment in Vietnam and in a foreign hydropower company anywhere. Source: Deal Street Asia
- OTT. The Danish developer Ørsted and Vietnam’s T&T Group have signed an MOU to launch a strategic collaboration on offshore wind in Vietnam. The collaboration between the two companies brings together a multi-GW pipeline of wind projects located off the coasts of the Binh Thuan and Ninh Thuan provinces, the most suitable areas for offshore wind development. Source: Vietnam News
