Doanh nghiệpKinh doanh

Singapore’s electric ‘giant’ wants to invest 540 million USD in Vietnam

SP Group – the only gas and electricity grid operator in Singapore – wants to pour S$750 million, or about $540 million, into Vietnam.

The above information was shared by Mr. Stanley Huang, CEO of SP Group on May 11 in Ho Chi Minh City. Accordingly, this total investment is to help the Singapore-based group achieve its ambition to develop a renewable energy portfolio in Vietnam of 1,000 MW by 2025.

For the Asia-Pacific energy industry, SP Group is not a strange name. This group belongs to Temasek and has invested in business in Australia, China and Thailand before coming to Vietnam. They have 3,600 employees, revenue of S$3.5 billion per year.

In fact, this “giant” of the power industry started to penetrate the Vietnamese market in February 2021, with a subsidiary, SP Energy Vietnam. “Vietnam is an important market for us,” said Mr. Stanley Huang.

In the Vietnamese market, SP Group will participate in two main segments, rooftop solar power and regional cooling solutions, through the form of an investment joint venture and a channel partner. The ambition of this company in each segment is not small. “We want to be the market leading rooftop solar operator,” said Mr. Stanley Huang.





Mr. Stanley Huang, CEO of SP Group.  Photo provided by the company

Mr. Stanley Huang, CEO of SP Group. Photo provided by the company

The company also had the first projects in Vietnam. In July 2021, the company poured 49% of capital into a joint venture with Bamboo Capital to develop solar projects with a capacity of 500 MW by 2025. An example customer is Vinamilk.

By the third quarter of 2021, they began to launch a partnership with 4 main channel partners, including CJ Olivenetworks Vina. The goal is to develop approximately 200 MW of rooftop solar capacity by 2024.

In total, up to now, they have completed building 100 MW of rooftop solar power for both types of businesses, with a staff of about 15 people. They plan to expand recruitment to 40 employees by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, the regional cooling segment is a completely unknown market in Vietnam. Basically, the solution is to build a cooling air supply system from a central manufacturing plant to multiple office buildings.

For example, the Marina Bay area of ​​Singapore operates the world’s largest underground area cooling network. In operation since 2006, a factory was built underground, providing cooling gas for 23 office buildings and the metro system here.

SP Group calculates this solution has reduced energy consumption by 30% compared to conventional cooling systems, equivalent to 20,000 tons of carbon emissions annually. “We see great potential in Vietnam because the climate is similar to Singapore, so the need for cooling is high,” said Mr. Stanley Huang.

During his business trip to Vietnam, Mr. Stanley Huang said he had contacted the owner of a leading real estate business here. This business side supports the idea of ​​area cooling. Therefore, business opportunities for SP Group may be new urban areas.

However, Mr. Stanley Huang also confirmed that the bigger opportunity lies in the central areas of big cities, with many existing office buildings. Providing solutions for these areas contributes to significant energy savings. But the access will not be easy because related to public infrastructure, management policy.

A similar problem solved by the city of Chengdu (China) is to license the company to experiment with 5 buildings. SP Group dismantled the cooling system of each building, built a central cooling and control system that connected them underground. “Their approach is to want us to have a small-scale demonstration project that, if successful, can be scaled up,” he said.

From this experience, he believes that to be implemented in Vietnam, it also needs the support of local authorities. “Changes in energy management policy may be needed for this market to grow,” he said.

Telecommunication

You are reading the article Singapore’s electric ‘giant’ wants to invest 540 million USD in Vietnam
at Blogtuan.info – Source: vnexpress.net – Read the original article here

Back to top button