Foreign investors find stake acquisitions fit in Vietnam energy race

Vietnam’s booming clean energy market has been urging foreign firms to get involved, with acquiring stakes from domestic investors probably a more convenient way.

Vietnam in 2020 overtook Thailand as Southeast Asia’s largest renewables market, according to the World Bank, and Thai companies were the first group among foreign investors to launch an acquisition wave in the country. Other multinationals have since followed suit.

DNV, a global independent energy expert and assurance provider, announced Friday that it advised Actis, a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure, on its acquisition of a majority stake in Singapore-headquartered Levanta Renewables, a Vietnam and Southeast Asia-focused renewables platform.

Actis announced the deal this August, adding that it has 300 megawatts of onshore wind power projects in Vietnam.

DNV said it has provided technical due diligence for the 300 MW portfolio of the ready plants, in addition to a 1,500 MW pipeline of projects.

The firm said as the advisor, it was asked to assess Vietnam’s commercial bankability and identify risks across a wide range of technical issues that may impact valuation of the renewable energy assets.

This Levanta acquisition is Actis’ first energy infrastructure investment in Vietnam and will support the country’s net-zero target by 2050. It follows Actis’ expansion plans.

“Actis has worked closely with DNV on a number of assignments within the Asean region and appreciates the combination of commercial pragmatism with technical expertise within an understanding of the needs and challenges of a due diligence process,” Actis CEO Liam Smith said in a release.

“Actis’ steadfast focus on expanding the installation of renewable energy plants in growth markets coupled with their ability to apply international environmental, social and governance standards in their investments creates tremendous value,” said Benoit Nguyen, head of Renewables - Southeast Asia, Energy Systems, DNV.

Nguyen served as DNV’s country manager in Vietnam from February-June 2021 when he moved to his current post, based in Singapore.

Vietnam's renewable energy market is offering many acquisition opportunities. Fecon, a Vietnamese enterprise in infrastructure construction, is seeking to sell all of its 40% stake in the $58 million Vinh Hao 6 solar power plant in the south-central province Binh Thuan, which began commercial operations in 2019.

Saudi Arabian utilities giant Acwa Power holds a 60% stake in the 50 MW plant as a result of a stake acquisition the same year.

Fecon and multinational power firm Corio Generation signed a joint development agreement this June for a proposed 500 MW offshore wind farm in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province bordering Binh Thuan. It could be among the first large-scale offshore wind projects to be built in Vietnam, once licenses and approvals are obtained.

In July, insiders said Vietnamese conglomerate Trungnam Group was considering selling a minority stake in its renewable energy assets. According to sources, who asked not to be named as the process is private, the corporation mulled over selling a 30% to 35% stake in its portfolio comprised mainly of wind and solar projects, a deal that might be valued its total assets at more than $1 billion.

In June, EDP Renovaveis, S.A., a top renewable energy firm in Spain, reached an agreement worth $284 million with Xuan Thien Group, a main power developer in Vietnam, to acquire two solar power projects in Ninh Thuan province which borders Binh Thuan. The two projects, totaling 200 MW, alternating current (MWAC), or 255 MW, direct current (MWDC), were put into commercial operation in April 2020.

French renewable energy giant EDF Renewables announced in October 2021 it had made a significant investment in SkyX Energy, a subsidiary of Vietnamese leading investment company VinaCapital and the operator of rooftop solar power plant SkyX Solar.

EDF did not disclose how much it invested, just saying that it assisted with the new partnership, and that SkyX Solar was expected to invest at least $100 million in developing 200 more MW of rooftop solar within the next two to three years.

At present, EDF and VinaCapital are seeking Vietnamese authorities’ nod to make initial surveys on a 3 GW wind power project offshore of Vung Tau.

Vietnam 2020 catch-up game with Thailand

Thai power firms got busier during 2020 in the Vietnamese renewables market. In December, the 50 MW Phong Dien II solar power plant commercially switched on in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue after it was just bought by Thai energy firm Gunkul Engineering Plc for $39.9 million. The Stock Exchange of Thailand-listed companies said the transaction was completed late that November.

The full take-over included the purchase of 49% of shares from Bangjak Green Energy Co, a subsidiary unit of Bangkok-based BS Industry Service Co, and 51% of shares from two individual Vietnamese shareholders.

The two women were Tran Thi Huong Hoa, who held a 46% stake, and Phan Thi Bich Nga with 5%. Therefore, more than $20 million from the Thai company into their pockets was reportedly a big profit, but exact gains were undisclosed.

The acquisition was part of Gunkul Engineering’s plans to expand in Southeast Asian renewables, which the company said have low risk and high growth potential. Toward the end, it went on to buy the Tan Chau solar plant in southern Vietnam’s Tay Ninh province bordering Cambodia for a reported $47 million, its fourth such acquisition in a row in 2020 alone. The plant began operations in October of that year.

In the same province, which also borders Ho Chi Minh City, two solar power plants with a combined power generation of 60 MW were bought in February 2020 by Gunkul Engineering at a total price of $60.6 million. Tri Viet 1 and Bach Khoa A Chau 1, each with a capacity of 30 MW, commercially started operation in May 2019.

Gulf Energy Development, another Thai firm, increased its ownership in two solar farms TTC 1 and 2 in the province from 49% in 2019 to 90%. The deals were made with its Vietnamese partner Thanh Thanh Cong Group, whose ecosystem also includes industrial and tourism real estate, as well as agriculture.

Other Thai companies with merger and acquisition deals to invest in the Vietnamese power sector include B. Grimm, BC Container Glass, and Begistics. Among them, B. Grimm’s presence is bolder.

B.Grimm Power, Siemens Energy, and U.S.-based company Energy Capital Vietnam (ECV) embarked on their consortium last December to develop the LNG-to-power Mui Ke Ga project in Binh Thuan, estimated to cost $1.75 billion to build. The 3,200 MW project has not been licensed yet.