ADB to invest $18 mln in Australis’ Vietnam aquaculture venture

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has disclosed its strategic equity investment plan for Vietnam-based Australis Holdings, committing more than $15 million to finance the firm’s climate-smart barramundi and seaweed aquaculture project.

In addition, the bank will provide an additional grant of $3 million for the company’s recent undertakings through its Climate Innovation and Development Fund (CIDF), which is dedicated to supporting sustainable and low-carbon economic development in Southeast Asia, according to an ADB disclosure seen Monday.

ADB says Vietnam’s fishery and aquaculture sector is thriving, with its rich and diverse fish farming culture having earned the nation a valuable position as the fourth-largest seafood producer in the world. However, Vietnam is in dire need of adopting sustainable practices to cultivate biodiversity and the regeneration of indigenous species, while enhancing fisheries’ production.

Seeing the growing potential in the global aquaculture industry, ADB has made that investment decision. “The project will foster technology transfer of best practices in sustainable aquaculture and improve gender equality standards,” the ADB disclosure reads.

“The project is fully aligned with the government of Vietnam’s goal of developing aquaculture in a sustainable manner, with a focus on developing high-level technology farming of major aquatic species for export, protecting the ecological environment, preventing disease, and ensuring food safety.”

Duarte Henriques da Silva, ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department specialist, said, “The project is also aligned with ADB’s sovereign operations in agriculture and natural resources, including the pipeline project, Restoration and Sustainable Management of the Coastal Forests in the Mekong Delta.”

According to Australis Holdings, its climate-smart barramundi and seaweed aquaculture project aims to help foster diversity within the aquatic ecosystem, while increasing high-quality seafood protein production in Vietnam’s fish farming sector, and building climate resilience.

In Vietnam, Australis Holdings places its head office in the central coastal province of Khanh Hoa, home to Van Phong Bay, where it established seaweed aquaculture in 2008. Australis Holdings is part of American firm Australis Aquaculture, LLC - a producer and marketer of ocean-farmed barramundi.