Danes reinforce investment tasks

During Crown Prince Frederik meeting with State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc in Hanoi, both sides agreed to expand ties in trade, investment, education, training, culture and tourism.

Danish Crown Prince Frederik meets with State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc

The signing was a part of celebrations to mark 50 years of Danish-Vietnamese diplomatic relations. Over the past years, the pair have been fostering their bilateral comprehensive partnership, with focus laid on promoting green growth using renewable energy towards sustainable development.

During the visit, Ørsted and T&T Group signed a landmark 5-year agreement with the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s National Innovation Centre to enhance technical capacity and build technological expertise in Vietnam’s emerging offshore wind sector.

It will bring together world-leading offshore wind researchers and technology providers with top Vietnamese universities, research institutions, and industrial players to deliver custom-made solutions for offshore wind. The goal of the initiative is to launch an offshore wind research and development (R&D) and training centre that will act as a focal point for human resources development and technology transfer.

Matthias Bausenwein, president of Ørsted Asia-Pacific, said, “This is a major step for Ørsted in establishing a strong foothold in Vietnam and showcasing our aspiration to be a reliable long-term partner in this country.”

Bausenwein believes that offshore wind is one of the best ways for Vietnam to meet its rapidly growing power demand. “It is a utility-scale, reliable, and domestic power source which, if deployed at large scale and with the right framework, can be competitive with coal and gas-fired power stations,” he added.

Meanwhile, IT services provider FPT Software and jewellery producer Julie Sandlau also established an alliance. FPT Software will provide the company with an exclusive roadmap to build its first smart factory and transform traditional jewellery manufacturing with digital technologies like robotic process automation, AI, and more. The new manufacturing plant is expected to start operation by the end of 2023 in Hoa Lac Hi-tech Park in Hanoi.

“Vietnam has always had a special place in our hearts since we started our business in 2006 here in Hanoi, so we are very excited to continue our Vietnam journey investing and developing further into digitalisation, AI, blockchain technology, and robotics,” said Julie Sandlau’s CEO Soren Roed Pedersen.

Along with Ørsted, CIP New Market Fund also signed agreements with local partners in many sectors. Notably, they combine collaborations to develop offshore wind farms in north Vietnam between CIP New Market Fund and Xuan Cau Holdings; a tie-up on potential port services in Vietnam with PTSC Mechanical & Construction and Semco Maritime; and cooperation between CIP New Market Fund and Pacific Corporation JSC to exploit port services.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Denmark Luong Thanh Nghi said, “Based on the comprehensive partnership, Danish and Vietnamese companies have large room to further expand the ties in areas related to green transition and sustainable development, while the demand for collaboration in energy, agriculture, biotechnology, and logistics is growing.”

At present, there are over 135 Danish companies represented in Vietnam, doubling the number of enterprises from other Nordic countries in Vietnam. The largest ones include Lego, Pandora, Ørsted, Vestas and Carlsberg.

Renewables group Vestas last week opened a new office in Ho Chi Minh City, while Carlsberg, the oldest Danish brewery brand with 175 years in operation, has a long-term plan to double the size of its operation in the next five years while reducing its carbon footprint through an environmentally friendly production process.

Vietnam has 154 valid investment projects from Denmark, registered at $1.78 billion. From January to October this year, the total capital in newly registered and stake acquisitions and capital contributions hit $1.32 billion.

Danish firms keen on Vietnamese market: Diplomat Many Danish businesses, especially small- and medium-sized ones, have high hope for investment opportunities in the Vietnamese market, according to Ambassador to Denmark Luong Thanh Nghi.

Vietnam-Denmark comprehensive partnership The relations between Vietnam and Denmark have been further deepened since the two countries established their diplomatic relations in 1971.

Vietnamese, Danish firms shake hands to develop offshore wind power Vietnam’s Doosan Vina and Denmark’s Ørsted have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop the offshore wind power supply chain in Vietnam.