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Vietnam and its regional neighbors are set to receive a major boost in their transition toward clean energy as British International Investment (BII), the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor, announced a $1.6 billion climate finance commitment for Southeast Asia.

The capital push, marking the fifth anniversary of BII’s regional headquarters in Singapore, aims to accelerate the energy transition in high-emitting, rapidly growing economies including Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Vietnam’s financial sector is already benefiting from earlier BII commitments. The UK institution has previously extended green financing to major Vietnamese lenders, including VPBank and HDBank, to fund local climate-related projects, sustainable agriculture, and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Under the new funding umbrella, Vietnam remains a prime target as the nation seeks to shift away from heavy reliance on fossil fuels toward renewables.

Over the next five years, BII plans to provide roughly half of the $1.6 billion directly from its balance sheet, while leveraging private investors to mobilize the remainder. A significant portion of this capital will flow through British Climate Partners (BCP), a specialized climate finance platform launched by BII earlier this year to target carbon-intensive Asian economies.

“The climate crisis is a national security issue that demands urgent attention,” said UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband. “I am proud that BII is taking action to help countries across Southeast Asia build cleaner, more resilient economies. BII is central to the UK’s efforts to unlock much more private investment to deliver on our climate and development goals.”

The funding push targets critical green sectors, including renewable energy generation, power transmission, electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure, waste management, and water resilience. Across Southeast Asia, BII projects that the new investments will add an estimated 1.8 gigawatts (GW) of clean energy capacity and prevent nearly 1.7 million tons of carbon emissions.

To date, BII has committed nearly $400 million to climate initiatives in the region between 2023 and 2025, backing developers such as ib vogt, Skye Renewables, and Xurya, alongside funds including Pentagreen Capital’s Green Investment Partnership and Gresham House’s SUSI Asia Energy Transition Fund.

Its existing portfolio has supported over 358 megawatts (MW) of operational or installed clean energy, generated more than 556,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) of green electricity, and avoided approximately 368,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.

“Our singular focus for the South-East Asia region is to fund climate finance projects that will contribute to the region’s clean and sustainable economic future,” said Leslie Maasdorp, CEO of BII, during the strategy launch in Singapore. “The global challenge of the climate emergency knows no borders.”

Representatives of Apple, Intel, and Meta have expressed interest in expanding cooperation with Vietnamese partners in technology, innovation, and high-tech manufacturing.

They voiced their wishes during a meeting in Hanoi on Wednesday between Vietnamese Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Tuc, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Jennifer Wicks, and representatives of various American businesses, groups, and associations.

The three companies proposed measures to attract next-generation investment, develop the semiconductor industry, and strengthen supply chain links.

They also called for greater investment in high-tech workforce training, support for Vietnamese businesses seeking to join global supply chains, and wider application of artificial intelligence (AI) to production and business operations.

Deputy PM Tuc welcomed the proposals and urged the three companies, along with other U.S. businesses, to proceed with their business and investment plans in Vietnam.

Representatives of other U.S. firms at the meeting also outlined areas for cooperation and called for improvements to the business environment.

Energy company AES and power technology provider GE Vernova expressed interest in continuing cooperation with Vietnam on power generation, transmission systems, and energy equipment supply chains.

Investment firms KKR and Warburg Pincus called for streamlined procedures for mergers and acquisitions, competition assessments, initial public offerings, and stock market listings.

Meanwhile, consumer goods companies PepsiCo and Philip Morris International urged further improvements to industry regulations and policies to facilitate production and business operations.

In a related development, at the U.S.-Vietnam Business Summit 2026 in Hanoi on the same day, Tuc outlined five priority areas for bilateral business cooperation: high technology, particularly semiconductors, AI and data; clean energy and the green transition; sustainable supply chains; finance, innovation and startups; and education, training and high-quality workforce development.

He affirmed that the Vietnamese government would continue institutional reforms and improve the investment and business environment to make it more transparent, stable, predictable and investor-friendly.

He called on U.S. businesses to expand their investments in Vietnam, strengthen cooperation in core technologies, particularly semiconductors, and deepen links in technology, equipment, services, production standards and supply chains to lay the groundwork for long-term cooperation.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has recommended the LNG Hai Phong power plant project in Hai Phong city be proceeded while awaiting the Prime Minister’s decision on a proposal to replace it with a complex combining renewable energy and battery energy storage.

director of the Electricity Authority of Vietnam, said the LNG power project was included in the eighth National Power Development Plan (PDP VIII) and its revised version, approved under the Prime Minister's Decision 768/QD-TTg.

As one of 12 LNG-fired power projects incorporated in the national plan, it received in-principle investment approval, completed investor selection, and broke ground in September 2025, Hung said.

The project, with Vingroup as the investor, also reached several key milestones, including an agreement with US-based GE for gas turbines.

Earlier, the ministry received a proposal to develop a renewable energy complex combined with a battery energy storage system (BESS) as an alternative to the LNG power plant.

After reviewing the proposal, the ministry reported to the Prime Minister and recommended proceeding with the LNG Hai Phong project in line with the approved power development plan.

The ministry has also sought the Prime Minister’s direction on the proposed battery storage and renewable energy complex. "Further details will be provided once the competent authorities make a decision," Hung said.

Vingroup and its energy subsidiary VinEnergo officially broke ground on the Hai Phong LNG power project in September 2025. Located in Tan Trao Industrial Park in Hai Phong city, the project covers nearly 100 hectares and has a total investment of more than VND178 trillion ($6.88 billion). Construction is expected to take five years, with the plant scheduled to begin operations by the end of 2030.

The facility will have a planned capacity of 4,800 megawatts, developed in two phases. The first phase will provide 1,600 MW, while the second will add 3,200 MW.

The plant is expected to generate 9.6 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually in the first phase, rising to 19.2 billion kWh when the second phase is operational.

The electricity will supply industrial production at Tan Trao Industrial Park and feed additional large-scale capacity into Vietnam’s national grid.