JERA to acquire 35.1% stake in Vietnam RE firm

Vietnam-based Gai Lai Electricity currently has around 600MW capacity.

JERA Co. Inc., through its subsidiary JERA Asia, entered a share purchase deal with the International Finance Corporation and Armstrong S.E. Asia Clean Energy Fund to acquire 35.1% of the shares of Gia Lai Electricity Joint Stock Company (GEC).

In a statement, JERA Asia CEO Toshiro Kudama said the company has viewed Vietnam as an important market in the ASEAN since their investment in Phu My 2.2 in 2005.

“As one of Japan’s leading energy companies, our objectives are to contribute to both economic growth and decarbonization across Asia, and this investment represents another milestone in this effort. As a shareholder in GEC, we will support GEC’s expansion of renewables in Vietnam,” Kudama added.

The Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange-listed GEC is an affiliate of the TTC Group and mainly operates hydro, solar, and wind power projects with a capacity of around 600 megawatts, including projects under construction.

It aims to expand its power generation assets to 1.7 gigawatts by 2025 composed mainly of solar and wind power.

Meanwhile, JERA’s Vietnam subsidiary, JERA Energy Vietnam Co., Ltd., started its full operations earlier this year.

JERA is also working on reducing carbon emissions from thermal power generation by promoting hydrogen and ammonia co-firing. For its 2035 vision, the company aims to scale its energy platform of renewables and decrease its low greenhouse gas thermal power.