Goldman Sachs finances $14 mln in Vietnam sustainability, kickstarts $350 mln funding

The Climate Innovation & Development Fund (CIDF), launched by Goldman Sachs and Bloomberg Philanthropies and managed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), has financed $14 million for four projects in Vietnam.

The initial capital seeded by Goldman Sachs and Bloomberg Philanthropies helped unlock $350 million for four projects in the Southeast Asian nation, with a focus on low carbon technologies and markets.

The CIDF funded $3 million to the VinFast Electric Mobility project and subsequently helped kickstart investment of $132 million into the project. The grant partially offset the project’s high upfront capital expenditure cost of establishing electric vehicle manufacturing lines for electric buses (e-buses) and the associated charging network.

The project is now on track to build up to 200 e-buses and add to the 150,000 charging ports VinFast has in place across 63 provinces and cities throughout the country.

The CIDF financed $5 million in the AC Energy Wind Power project. The grant has mobilized investment capital of $153 million for an 88-MW wind farm in the central province of Ninh Thuan.

The grant also focused on reducing environmental and social safeguards, such as the shadow flicker impact on residents and mortality of birds migrating close to the turbines. The project aims to offset about 215,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year.

Another project is Australis Aquaculture Research and Development, based in the central province of Khanh Hoa, with $3 million granted from the CIDF. The fund’s grant mobilized investment capital of $42 million to support an initiative related to the cultivation of asparagopsis taxiformis seaweed within commercial ocean farming.

The grant aims at promoting climate resiliency and fostering ecosystem biodiversity.

The CIDF also granted $3 million to the GreenYellow Photovoltaic Solar project. The CIDF funding helped the solar rooftop project mobilize $23 million.

With a planned peak capacity of up to 32.3 MW, this project aims to lead to an annual reduction of 15,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions by 2025.

The CIDF, a $25 million concessional financing fund, is designed to support climate mitigation and adaptation projects in India and Vietnam.

By offering concessional finance to de-risk projects, the fund aims to leverage up to $500 million in additional financing for private sector innovation.