Singapore’s Clime Capital invests $10 mln in Vietnam energy firm Nami amid policy turnaround

Clime Capital, a Singapore-based fund manager focused on accelerating the low carbon transition, has announced a $10 million investment in Ho Chi Minh City-headquartered Nami Distributed Energy (Nami) as Vietnam has allowed direct power purchases from renewable plants.

This investment, facilitated through the Southeast Asia Clean Energy Fund II (SEACEF II), aims to support Nami’s accelerated growth and positive impact on Vietnam businesses, Clime Capital said in a statement.

The investment comes as the Vietnamese government has introduced Decree 80/2024/ND-CP on direct power purchase agreements (DPPA), creating significant opportunities for both distributed (direct line) and grid-connected cost-effective renewable energy.

With the new investment, Nami is well positioned to deliver effective rooftop solar and other on-site energy solutions at larger scale to commercial and industrial customers across the country, added the statement.

Nami Distributed Energy is a subsidiary of Nami Energy, founded by Vietnamese investors experienced in the Vietnam energy sector. It provides solar energy solutions and other on-site solutions such as battery storage and energy efficiency measures.

“This investment, along with our extensive and rapidly growing project pipeline, positions us perfectly for the next funding round and expansion,” said Luu Hoang Ha, chairman of Nami Distributed Energy.

Mason Wallick, CEO at Clime Capital, said, “We welcome the opportunity to support the expansion of Nami Distributed Energy’s ground-breaking clean energy model in Vietnam. This significant funding provides a double benefit of growing competitive renewable energy facilities while also boosting Vietnam’s progress toward its 2050 decarbonization target.”

The U.S. Mission to Vietnam last week applauded the Vietnamese government for approving the DPPA decree and said the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) would continue to partner with the Ministry of Industry and Trade on its implementation.

In a Tuesday statement, Samsung, the parent firm of Samsung Electronics Vietnam (SEV), said the DPPA decree will allow enterprises to purchase renewable energy from private producers without an intermediary, provided that it commits to signing renewable energy contracts exceeding a certain scale with private producers, not just the state-owned Vietnam Electricity.