Malaysia's KAB ventures into Vietnam's renewable energy market

KAB is looking to capitalise on the growing energy demand in Vietnam

As reported by Focus Malaysia, KAB Energy Power and Janakuasa will form a special purpose vehicle to scoop up the majority stakes in three hydropower plant projects in the country with an aggregate installed capacity of 180MW. The projects have existing power purchase agreements (PPA) with Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) which will expire between January 2030 and 2039. They have commenced commercial operations between 2015 and 2019

Janakuasa, an established private energy investor based in Malaysia and Singapore, is a leading investor in thermal power and renewable energy in Vietnam. Janakuasa has been developing the Ecotech wind farm project since 2015. To date, Janakuasa has over 1,000MW of power projects under construction in Vietnam and a further 300MW of wind and 200MW of mini hydro projects in development.

Janakuasa is teaming up with its partners to construct two power plants in Vietnam, including a coal-fired power plant in Duyen Hai 2 with a capacity of 1,200MW and a wind power plant in Hiep Thanh with a capacity of 78MW. Both are located in Tra Vinh.

“We are proud to be given an opportunity to form a synergistic partnership with Janakuasa as we are able to leverage their experience and knowhow,” said KAB’s managing director Datuk Lai Keng Onn. “Concurrently, with the huge growing demand for electricity in Vietnam, we are confident that our first foray into the Vietnamese market will be successful.”

On the same note, Janakuasa’s chairman Ti Chee Liang pointed out, “Given that Vietnam is ASEAN’s rising star with the most promising economic growth and growing population, demand for energy has increased exponentially.”

Vietnam’s rapid economic growth and growing population is driving demand for new energy. The country’s strong wind and solar resources make it an attractive investment destination for the development of multiple renewable assets in Southeast Asia. Furthermore, Vietnam has set major renewable energy targets seeking to rise from 0.5 per cent renewable energy reliance in 2016 to 25 per cent by 2030.

Following the partnership, both KAB Energy Power and Janakuasa will actively seek to increase its renewable portfolio in Vietnam and support the Vietnamese government to meet its renewable energy targets in the shortest possible time.