Tepco Renewable buys 25% stake in Vietnam Power Development Co.

Tepco Renewable of Japanese electricity heavyweight Tepco has acquired a 24.96% interest in Vietnam Power Development JSC, making the Vietnamese firm an affiliate.

The transaction was made through Tepco Renewable's subsidiary Tepco Renewable Power Singapore, which has completed its acquisition of 26.6 million shares of the Vietnamese hydroelectric power company for VND785 billion ($33.16 million).

The Vietnamese firm, shortly known as VNPD, was established in 2002 and is listed on the Ho Chi Minh Stock exchange as VPD. It owns and operates three hydropower plants with a total output of 136.2 megawatts, Tepco announced from its Tokyo headquarters on Thursday.

The three plants are the Nam Ma (3.2 MW) and Khe Bo (100 MW) in the north, and Bac Binh (33 MW) in the south-central region.

With the investment, Tepco Renewable has become the second-largest shareholder in VNPD after EVN Genco 1, which holds a 36.65% stake. Next to Tepco Renewable are Vietnamese construction and investment firm Tuan Loc JSC (17.2%) and Pha Lai Thermal Power Co. (10.6%).

EVN Genco 1 is an electricity generation firm under state-owned utility Electricity of Vietnam, or EVN.

The transaction is the second investment Tepco Renewable has made in Vietnam following its investment in 2018 in the Coc San hydropower plant (29.7 MW) in the north.

On Thursday, VPD shares were traded at VND28,800 ($1.22) at the highest, a little higher than its Wednesday closing price of VND28,200 ($1.19).

This August, Japan’s largest power company JERA acquired a 35.1% stake in Vietnamese firm Gia Lai Electricity JSC from the World Bank’s investment arm IFC and Armstrong S.E. Asia Clean Energy Fund Pte.

JERA is a 50-50 joint venture between Tepco and Chubu Electric Power, another Japanese company.