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Singapore's leading firms seek to expand investments in Vietnam

Singapore's leading firms seek to expand investments in Vietnam

Leading Singaporean companies, including CapitaLand, Sembcorp, SATS, SEA Limited, Keppel and UOB, have expressed interest in expanding investments in Vietnam across sectors ranging from green urban development and industrial real estate to logistics, data centers, digital finance and next-generation industrial parks.

The commitments were discussed during meetings between Vietnam's top leader To Lam and company executives on Saturday during his state visit to Singapore.

CapitaLand eyes green urban projects, logistics, data centers

During a meeting with Jonathan Yap, CEO of CapitaLand Development (CLD) - the development arm of CapitaLand Group, Party chief and President To Lam praised the company's more than three decades of operations in Vietnam, particularly in real estate development.

He said he welcomed CapitaLand's plans to pursue high-quality, green and smart urban area projects that make efficient use of land, integrate with urban infrastructure, and contribute to the modernization of Vietnam's major cities.

The CapitaLand executive said the company is seeking to expand investments in green housing developments, urban area projects, industrial real estate, logistics facilities and green data centets.

He also welcomed Vietnam's recent efforts to streamline investment procedures, decentralize decision-making, simplify business regulations, and accelerate digitalization.

Sembcorp backs expansion of VSIP network

To Lam also met executives of Sembcorp Industries, praising the group's nearly 30 years of operations in Vietnam, particularly through the Vietnam-Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) network and its energy investments.

He encouraged Sembcorp to expand investment into sectors where Vietnam has growing demand and proposed a long-term goal of establishing at least one VSIP industrial park in each of Vietnam's 34 provinces and cities.

The Vietnamese top leader also called for future VSIP developments to evolve into green and smart industrial parks integrated with innovation centers, digital infrastructure, modern logistics, and low-emission manufacturing ecosystems.

Sembcorp said it supports the vision of expanding the VSIP model nationwide and plans to continue investing in Vietnam while contributing to workforce development, technology transfer and the attraction of additional foreign investors.

Through its joint venture with Vietnam's Becamex, Sembcorp has helped develop the VSIP network from the first industrial park in Binh Duong province in 1996 to a system of 26 industrial parks across the country.

SATS focuses on aviation logistics, SEA expands digital finance

In the aviation sector, To Lam highlighted the longstanding cooperation between SATS and Vietnam Airlines and noted Vietnam's priority on developing modern aviation and logistics infrastructure to support trade, e-commerce, tourism and international connectivity.

SATS said it is interested in expanding investments in Vietnam through the development and operation of air cargo terminals, airport logistics services and partnerships at key airports. The company also plans to share technical expertise and support workforce training for Vietnam's aviation industry.

Meanwhile, SEA Limited said it aims to expand its presence in Vietnam in banking, financial services and development of modern logistics.

The Vietnamese top leader acknowledged the group's operations through Shopee, ShopeePay and SPX, and encouraged SEA to strengthen cooperation in promoting e-commerce, supporting digital transformation among small businesses, and expanding market access for Vietnamese products.

He also urged the company to explore broader applications of artificial intelligence, data analytics and digital technologies to help small enterprises and merchants improve operational efficiency, expand market reach, and participate more deeply in regional digital supply chains.

The discussions also covered cross-border e-commerce, digital payments, digital financial services and financial inclusion initiatives.

Keppel and UOB target green infrastructure, financial services

During a separate meeting with Keppel executives, To Lam welcomed the company's plans to expand its activities in sustainable infrastructure, smart cities and projects aimed at improving quality of life.

Vietnam encouraged Keppel to explore opportunities in green infrastructure, energy saving solutions, climate-resilient infrastructure, low-emission urban developments, data centers, cloud computing, AI infrastructure and digital systems designed to enhance data security and sovereignty.

Other areas discussed included smart urban developments, mixed-use real estate, urban services, infrastructure supporting Vietnam's International Financial Center (IFC), green logistics, sustainable aviation fuel, and innovation ecosystems.

UOB, which has operated in Vietnam since 1993, said it remains committed to expanding investments in banking, financial services, hospitality, real estate and technology ventures.

The bank also pledged support for Vietnam's ambition to develop the IFC that could serve as a regional financial gateway.

To Lam asked UOB to deepen cooperation in financial services supporting the IFC, strengthen regional financial connectivity, and help Vietnamese companies improve corporate governance, access capital, internationalize operations, and integrate further into ASEAN value chains.

The meetings highlighted the broadening scope of Vietnam-Singapore economic cooperation, which is increasingly expanding beyond traditional trade and investment into higher-value sectors characterized by advanced technology, innovation, and modern management practices.

Following the recent elevation of bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the investment plans of major Singaporean companies underscore a new phase of cooperation focused on sustainability, digitalization, and enhancing Vietnam's role in regional value chains.

Source: Minh Anh, Quang Nguyen

Photo: Photo courtesy of Vietnam News Agency

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Vietnam has potential to become Southeast Asia’s renewable energy hub: Suzlon

Vietnam has potential to become Southeast Asia’s renewable energy hub: Suzlon

Speaking with Vietnam Economic Times / VnEconomy on the sidelines of the APAC Wind Energy Summit 2026 in Hanoi, Mr. Girish Tanti, Vice Chairman of Suzlon Group, said Vietnam is not only a promising market but also has the potential to become a regional hub for renewable energy development, services, and supply chains.

Nearly seven months have passed since Suzlon first began actively exploring opportunities in Vietnam. How would you assess the current outlook for Vietnam’s wind energy market, particularly in light of the revised Power Development Plan VIII and the country’s long-term energy transition goals?

Vietnam, within Asia, stands out, in terms of its bold targets-almost 24 gigawatts of renewable energy already operational, and 7 gigawatts of wind operational in the country, and set out a very strong goal for energy green transition by 2035, to adoption of renewable energy.

It is the fastest growing renewable energy market in the region, and Suzlon being one of the pioneers in Asia, we have opened up several markets in Asia, with product portfolio ranging from 2 megawatt to almost 6 megawatt now, largely focused on onshore wind.

We see Vietnam market for onshore, near shore also pretty interesting, that is something that is more likely to happen in the immediate future, and we are very confident that we should be able to make a meaningful contribution to Vietnam's growth from here.

Does Suzlon view Vietnam primarily as a potential market for wind turbine sales, or does the Group see Vietnam as a strategic manufacturing and service hub for Southeast Asia in the future?

Vietnam being the largest market in Southeast Asia has a very unique position, because it is an early starter with probably the largest, almost 7 gigawatts installed wind fleet. It is very uniquely placed to play a regional role.

Any company that is focused around renewable energy operating out of Vietnam, will use Vietnam as a regional player, so we too will not just focus on the supply of wind turbines, but also the full scale service of wind turbines, and then using it as a base for the rest of Asia.

If market conditions are favorable, would Suzlon consider establishing its first manufacturing facility or technical service center in Vietnam during the 2027-2030 period?

I think we are in the first phase of kick-starting our build-out in Vietnam, so we are in that stage where we are connecting with all the key developers and customers to see how we can develop long-term portfolio projects with our customers.

And as the outcome of that come out, I think the first phase service business will pick up, then we will have new turbine sales, and with that then we will look at how we can build the supply chain ecosystem in Vietnam, not just for Vietnam, but for the rest of the region.

Suzlon played an important role in helping India develop a strong domestic wind energy manufacturing ecosystem. Based on that experience, what lessons could Vietnam learn to build its own wind power supply chain and supporting industries?

I think Vietnam has a beautiful opportunity right now, we can replicate some of the things we did in India.

First and foremost for any market to grow and develop in a strong way, you need a stable policy.

Vietnam now has a good vision and a stable policy in place, which is very critical.

The second important element is to make sure that you have the right infrastructure to be able to build this.

So your grid infrastructure, your port infrastructure, all the other infrastructure to allow renewable energy adoption.

The third is, you know, having the market development, creating the demand for adoption of renewable energy and energy transition, that is another third important area.

And when we look at building the ecosystem for manufacturing, I think it's important that you do a phased manner adoption of local development of things, otherwise it can hamper your growth.

So while the growth is coming out, not to slow down your growth, it's important that we build out ancillary industries and ecosystems across Vietnam, which can benefit from the growth of the renewable sector also.

Many wind farms in Vietnam are now entering the operational phase and require professional maintenance services. How does Suzlon evaluate the potential of the operations and maintenance (O&M) market in Vietnam?

So you have 77 gigawatts of already installed capacity of wind. Suzlon today operates close to about 21.5 gigawatts globally, around 17 nations that we have this fleet.

Within Asia itself, the largest part of this fleet is there. So very strong competency and we are close to Vietnam geographically also. So I think in India, Vietnam cooperation is very good. So there is a good partnership relationship between the two countries. I think we can leverage that to build a whole ecosystem, which can be of mutual benefit on that.

And definitely the service business is an important piece, and Suzlon has been very strong on the service side. Because we strongly believe it's not just installing the turbines, it's making sure that the green electrons delivered over the life of the project, which ultimately gets investors to kind of reinvest into renewable energy.

Today we see almost 90% of Suzlon's business comes from repeat business, which is primarily because they are happy with Suzlon's performance.

Chinese wind turbine manufacturers have expanded rapidly across Asia with highly competitive pricing. How does Suzlon differentiate itself and compete in markets such as Vietnam?

Cost competitive and affordability of energy is very critical. Suzlon's unique proposition is that, like if you see our current 5 megawatt and 6 megawatt project, which we launched at this conference for the Asian market, the Blue Sky platform, both of these are very uniquely designed to meet the energy profile and the grid requirement of this region and the climate requirement.

The 5 megawatt is largely for the low wind conditions to extract the maximum energy. And you have a 6 megawatt, which is a high wind turbine, which can extract energy from higher 8, 9 meters per second of that.

So I think with this combination of two turbines, today effectively we are able to provide almost 90% coverage of any wind sites that exist in Asia to fit this turbine.

So the competitiveness is coming purely not just from cost, but it is the value delivery.

So from a cost per kilowatt hour, there is a little, at times people just look at the capital cost, but you must also see the life cycle cost, LCOE as we call it.

I think Suzlon product is very competitive on the life cycle cost of a turbine, means a unit cost of generation of electricity from Suzlon will be competitive to any other product. And these two products are powerhouses. They are very strong on performance.

Suzlon is entering a new phase of global growth and business transformation. Within Suzlon’s long-term international strategy, what role do you envision Vietnam playing over the next five to ten years?

We are entering a new phase of Suzlon 2.0, where we are growing the global markets in a big way. We will also grow beyond wind.

So the idea is to do wind solar storage and make firm renewable energy. So we will work with partners and develop plans of not just one or two years from project to project, but build relationships for a decade and help them build their energy portfolio of wind solar storage together.

Technical partner, operational partner, end-to-end service. And Vietnam is uniquely placed with its strong ahead-of-the-curve build-up of renewable energy. So we will be leveraging that for the Asia market build-up.


ADB plans $4.6bln financing package for Vietnam through 2029

ADB plans $4.6bln financing package for Vietnam through 2029

The Asian Development Bank plans to support Vietnam with a portfolio of 27 projects worth approximately $4.6 billion through 2029.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) plans to support Vietnam with a portfolio of 27 projects worth approximately $4.6 billion through 2029, focusing on infrastructure, energy, urban development, agriculture, and public sector efficiency.

The plan was discussed during a meeting on June 15 in Hanoi between Deputy Minister of Finance Tran Quoc Phuong and Mr. Kim Dongil, Executive Director at ADB representing a constituency that includes Vietnam and some other Asian countries.

During the meeting, both sides reviewed future cooperation priorities, including budget support lending, large-scale infrastructure projects, and initiatives aimed at expanding ASEAN power grid connectivity.

According to ADB, the proposed project pipeline aligns with Vietnam’s key development priorities and is designed to support sustainable economic growth. The two sides agreed that future cooperation should focus on large-scale, high-impact projects capable of generating broad economic benefits rather than dispersing resources across smaller initiatives.

Deputy Minister Phuong noted that Vietnam’s financing needs remain substantial as the country pursues ambitious development goals. He emphasized that investment resources will be directed toward growth-driving sectors and regions with strong capacity to absorb capital effectively.

For his part, Mr. Kim Dongil reaffirmed ADB’s commitment to expanding its operations and financial support through 2030. He said the bank stands ready to assist Vietnam in achieving its socio-economic development objectives and expressed confidence that cooperation between the two sides will continue to deepen in the years ahead.



Automechanika 2026 highlights Việt Nam’s new energy vehicle boom

Automechanika 2026 highlights Việt Nam’s new energy vehicle boom

Over 400 businesses from 17 countries and regions have participated at the Automechanika HCM City 2026 exhibition on Thursday at HCM City’s Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center.

HCM CITY — Over 400 businesses from 17 countries and territories are participating at the Automechanika HCM City 2026 exhibition on Thursday at HCM City’s Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, featuring the latest solutions and technologies across various sectors of the automotive industry.

The three-day event is co-organised by German based Messe Frankfurt Group, Chan Chao International Co Ltd and Yorkers Exhibition Service Vietnam.

The exhibited solutions and technologies cover various sectors, including parts & components, electrics & electronics, accessories & customising and others.

Key exhibitors at the event include leading carmakers from Việt Nam and China, as VinFast and BYD Oway, along with original equipment (OE) and aftermarket manufacturers and suppliers from Italy, Japan, Germany and Korea.

It also offers visitors an overview of the latest trends across the entire automotive value chain, including Việt Nam's rapidly growing new energy vehicle (NEV) market.

Fiona Chiew, general manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, said: “Việt Nam’s transition to EVs and hybrids is driving change for the domestic automotive sector, with both national and global carmakers making their impact on the market.”

According to the event organiser, EV and hybrid vehicle sales in Việt Nam reached 162,039 units in the first quarter of 2026, up over 36 percent year-on-year, creating expanding opportunities and challenges within the value chain.

The rapid growth of the electric and hybrid vehicle market is creating new demand for components, diagnostic equipment, charging infrastructure, repair services and technical workforce, while also opening up room for growth across the entire automotive supply chain.

She also mentioned that the event serves as a comprehensive platform for international and Vietnamese businesses to connect, share ideas and forge partnerships.

The event also provides visitors with numerous activities, including a Collision Repair Training Workshop, an Automotive Mobility Solutions Conference and B2B activities.


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