ADB invests $15 mln in ocean-based aquaculture in Vietnam

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Australis Holdings have signed a $15 million convertible note to promote climate-resilient, ocean-based barramundi, and seaweed aquaculture in Vietnam.

The investment will fund working capital to expand Australis’ operations at Van Phong Bay in central Vietnam’s Khanh Hoa province and support the development of a second regional production hub in the south.

An additional $3 million grant will be provided by the Climate Innovation and Development Fund (CIDF), administered by ADB, the bank announced Friday.

“Three billion people across the world depend on seafood for protein, even as global fish stocks fall due to overfishing and temperature rise,” ADB director general for private sector operations Suzanne Gaboury said in the announcement.

“ADB’s assistance will support the government’s efforts to develop sustainable aquaculture, particularly large-scale farming of high-value species for export. Aquaculture can support low-carbon protein production, while tropical ocean farming is more resilient to climate risks.

She added, “This is our first aquaculture equity investment in Vietnam, and we are proud to partner with Australis.”

Australis is the world’s largest barramundi producer. Also known as Asian sea bass, the species is adaptable and resilient, well suited to aquaculture, with high export value. Australis pioneered the development of modern, large-scale marine aquaculture in Vietnam.

Australis CEO Josh Goldman said, “ADB’s financing will support the continued growth of our operations in central Vietnam as well as the development of a large new regional production hub where we’ve established a group of leases that will allow us to achieve 50,000 tons of annual barramundi production.”

The CIDF grant to Australis’ subsidiary Greener Grazing LLC. will support research and development into the cultivation of asparagopsis taxiformis seaweed for commercial ocean farming. This species of seaweed has been demonstrated to significantly reduce enteric methane emissions when included in cattle feed. Seaweed farms can mitigate ocean acidification and enhance climate resilience of marine ecosystems and have carbon sequestration potential.

Launched in September 2021, CIDF is a blended finance facility managed by ADB, established with an initial $25 million philanthropic commitment from Bloomberg Philanthropies and Goldman Sachs. The fund has the potential to unlock up to $500 million in private sector and governmental investments in support of sustainable low-carbon economic development.

ADB is ramping up its lending to the private sector and financial institutions across the continent via Gaboury’s Private Sector Operations Department.

“ADB traditionally has been an infrastructure bank with the majority of our assets in long-dated project finance. We are of course still a project finance lender,” Gaboury said at a business conference held alongside ADB’s annual meeting in South Korea’s Incheon this May.

ADB’s rise of corporate finance is a result of the dynamic situation facing its member countries resulting from the ongoing Ukraine conflict and rising inflation and interest rates, she said.

Established in 2006, Australis is vertically integrated with operations encompassing breeding, hatcheries, ocean farms, processing, packaging, and export. Australis’ consumer-facing brand The Better Fish focuses on quality, sustainability, and ease of use.