Vietnam could draw further foreign investment through developing cleanenergy resources, experts commented at a recent meeting on theEU-Vietnam free trade agreement.
From now to 2020,Vietnam will need some 8 billion USD per year to meet the local energydemand, which doubles every six years, said Vice President of the GreenGrowth Business Sector Committee (GGSC) under the European Chamber ofCommerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) Christoph Schill.
The country has vast potential in the field but has been focusingsolely on low-cost energy, such as hydroelectricity and coal, withoutproper investment policies to develop clean energy, he said.
Developing clean energy will help the Southeast Asian country takeadvantage of its natural conditions and ensure energy security movingforward.
Energy price hikes do not affectinvestment from foreign firms, according to the latest survey conductedon 150 foreign businesses in Vietnam by the GGSC and theInternational Institute for Sustainable Development.
Most respondents said the price of energy was the least importantfactor among 10 contributing reasons for their decision to invest inVietnam .
More crucial factors are the availabilityof skilled workers, costs, domestic market conditions and Governmentpolicies, they said.
A majority of companiesrevealed that they could bear nominal power tariff increases of 15percent or more before planning future investments and over 65 percentcould accept a price hike of 10 percent per year.
Foreign companies are more concerned about the quality of electricitysupply than prices. Up to 65 percent of respondents said they were notsatisfied with the power supply infrastructure and two-thirds utiliseback-up power sources. Some 73 percent said unstable power supply,rather than power price hikes, had affected the country’scompetitiveness in attracting investors.
Expertssaid Vietnam should draw up long-term plans to promote the use ofgreen energy while encouraging private investors to join the field andbuilding a legal framework for the development of renewable energy.
Europe is one of the biggest trade partners of Vietnam with 27.6billion EUR worth of goods and is among the country’s largest investorswith 1,810 investment projects. The figures are forecast to surge whenthe EU-Vietnam free trade pact is signed in 2016.-VNA
From now to 2020,Vietnam will need some 8 billion USD per year to meet the local energydemand, which doubles every six years, said Vice President of the GreenGrowth Business Sector Committee (GGSC) under the European Chamber ofCommerce in Vietnam (EuroCham) Christoph Schill.
The country has vast potential in the field but has been focusingsolely on low-cost energy, such as hydroelectricity and coal, withoutproper investment policies to develop clean energy, he said.
Developing clean energy will help the Southeast Asian country takeadvantage of its natural conditions and ensure energy security movingforward.
Energy price hikes do not affectinvestment from foreign firms, according to the latest survey conductedon 150 foreign businesses in Vietnam by the GGSC and theInternational Institute for Sustainable Development.
Most respondents said the price of energy was the least importantfactor among 10 contributing reasons for their decision to invest inVietnam .
More crucial factors are the availabilityof skilled workers, costs, domestic market conditions and Governmentpolicies, they said.
A majority of companiesrevealed that they could bear nominal power tariff increases of 15percent or more before planning future investments and over 65 percentcould accept a price hike of 10 percent per year.
Foreign companies are more concerned about the quality of electricitysupply than prices. Up to 65 percent of respondents said they were notsatisfied with the power supply infrastructure and two-thirds utiliseback-up power sources. Some 73 percent said unstable power supply,rather than power price hikes, had affected the country’scompetitiveness in attracting investors.
Expertssaid Vietnam should draw up long-term plans to promote the use ofgreen energy while encouraging private investors to join the field andbuilding a legal framework for the development of renewable energy.
Europe is one of the biggest trade partners of Vietnam with 27.6billion EUR worth of goods and is among the country’s largest investorswith 1,810 investment projects. The figures are forecast to surge whenthe EU-Vietnam free trade pact is signed in 2016.-VNA
