Opens offshore wind market to foreign investors and adopts incentives.

03 Mar 2025

On 3 March 2025, Viet Nam adopted Decree No. 58/2025/ND-CP on the development of renewable and new energy, establishing clear participation criteria for foreign investors in the offshore wind power sector.

Under the decree, foreign investors seeking to participate in offshore wind power projects must meet several conditions. These include having prior experience in developing at least one offshore wind power project in Viet Nam or abroad—a requirement that also applies to domestic investors. In addition, foreign investors must contribute a minimum of 15 per cent of the total investment capital, of which at least 20 per cent must be equity capital. For domestic investors, the minimum capital contribution is 5 per cent, with the same equity requirement.

The decree further stipulates that at least 5 per cent of the charter capital or total voting shares of the project company must be held by either a State-owned enterprise or a company in which a State-owned enterprise holds more than 50 per cent of its charter capital or voting shares. Moreover, investors must obtain written agreements from the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and commit to using domestic labour, goods and services from local suppliers throughout the investment, construction and operational phases, while ensuring competitiveness in terms of price, quality, timeline and availability.

Decree No. 58 also outlines investment incentives for offshore wind power projects. Projects that receive approval before 1 January 2031 and are connected to the national power grid—with a total capacity of up to 6,000 MW as specified in the power development plan—are eligible for: - Full exemption from sea area usage fees during the basic construction period (up to three years), followed by a 50 per cent reduction for 12 years. - Exemptions from land use fees granted under the same conditions that apply to other new energy projects. - A minimum electricity offtake guarantee during the loan repayment period (up to 15 years), ensuring that at least 80 per cent of the contracted electricity is purchased.

Decree No. 58 entered into force immediately upon its issuance.

Nature of measure:

• Promotion
• Incentives

Type:

• Entry and establishment (Ownership and control, Approval and admission - other)
• Promotion and facilitation (Investment incentives)

Industry:

• Services (Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply)

Sources:

• Official legislation portal, Nghị định số 58/2025/NĐ-CP của Chính phủ: Quy định chi tiết một số điều của Luật Điện lực về phát triển điện năng lượng tái tạo, điện năng lượng mới, https://datafiles.chinhphu.vn/cpp/files/vbpq/2025/3/58-nd.signed.pdf, 03 Mar 2025