Vietnam Selects Vingroup for Major Offshore Wind Project, Hurting PNE

By Francesco Guarascio

Vietnam's Energy Sector Challenges

HANOI, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Vietnam's authorities selected a newly created subsidiary of real estate conglomerate Vingroup to develop the first phase of one of the country's largest offshore wind power projects, excluding Morgan Stanley-backed German renewable firm PNE which said the decision came as a surprise.

PNE's Investment and Loss

  It is the latest setback for foreign investors in Vietnam's energy sector, after Hanoi last year retroactively cut subsidies for several renewable companies. Diverging views over electricity prices and deadlines are also weighing on foreign investment in the country's nascent liquefied natural gas and nuclear sectors.      

Vingroup's Growing Influence

The decision is a new win for Vingroup, Vietnam's largest firm by market capitalisation, which is expanding amid supportive government policies. 

Government Policies Impacting Investors

From its core real estate business it has branched out into tourism, education and healthcare. It owns Nasdaq-listed electric vehicle maker VinFast and last year set up companies in new sectors, including railways, steel, energy, entertainment and space.  

PNE INVESTED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS

PNE planned to invest $4.6 billion in the 2,000 megawatt offshore wind project. Vietnam wants to have 6,000 megawatts of offshore wind capacity by 2030-2035 from zero now.

The People's Committee of Gia Lai province approved the bid from Vingroup's VinEnergo for the first 750-megawatt phase of the project with an investment of 48.3 billion dong ($1.9 million), it said in a note earlier this week, without citing PNE and another Vietnamese bidder who were not selected. 

"We have taken note of this decision with surprise. We are currently reviewing the reasoning and will then decide about the next steps," PNE told Reuters.

VinEnergo has not developed any offshore wind farm yet, but has won other projects in Vietnam since its establishment in March.

Gia Lai People's Committee and Vingroup did not respond to requests for comment. 

PNE has worked on the project since 2019, conducting feasibility studies and wind tests, two people familiar with the operations said. The sources declined to be named as they were not authorised to speak on the matter. 

One said the company had already invested millions of dollars. PNE declined to comment on costs.

The sources said Vietnamese authorities raised unexpected concerns about PNE's financial commitment, with one saying the firm was asked to preemptively deposit the investment money in Vietnamese accounts as a guarantee. Global investor Morgan Stanley Infrastructure owns a majority stake in PNE.

The German firm has opened an office in Vietnam and signed with Vietnamese authorities a memorandum of understanding on the pricing of electricity, it said on its website.

GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

Multiple Western wind companies have quit Vietnam in recent months as part of global reorganisations, including Norway's Equinor, Denmark's Orsted and Italy's Enel.

Vietnam's top leader, To Lam, is pushing a new growth model supporting national champions, in a shift that at times has generated frictions with foreign investors, which have been the backbone of Vietnam's decades-long economic boom. 

Vingroup has been a major beneficiary of the new policy. Its shares surged more than 700% last year.

The Southeast country is a major hub for export-oriented foreign multinationals' industrial operations. 

Growing electricity demand has occasionally caused blackouts as the country struggles to significantly boost power generation. It has often met additional needs burning more coal, despite pledges to reduce its use.

($1 = 25,920.0000 dong)

(Reporting by Francesco Guarascio; Additional reporting by Khanh Vu)