Flappy Bird creator lends a wing to Vietnamese startups '

Just propose those projects to me, no matter how bad it is,' Nguyen Ha Dong writes on Facebook.

The overnight success of mobile game Flappy Bird has turned its creator Nguyen Ha Dong into a star of the local startup scene.

Flappy Bird creator Nguyen Ha Dong (L) and Google CEO Sundar Pichai (R) shake hands at a sidewalk café in Hanoi on December 22, 2015. Photo by Reuters

The game, hailed by the industry as one of the milestones of Vietnam's startup history, has brought Dong great fame and fortune, all within a short period of time.

Now Dong is making a pledge to pay it forward and fund Vietnamese startups in the fields of robotics, artificial intelligence, social services, community development and education.

“Just propose those projects to me, no matter how bad it is,” he wrote on his Facebook page.

He did not give specific details about mentoring and funding.

Flappy Bird was released in May 2013 with little fanfare. By February 2014, the sleeper hit topped the charts in more than 100 countries and had been downloaded more than 50 million times. Dong reportedly earned an estimated $50,000 a day.

The Vietnamese government has seen successes like Flappy Bird as an encouraging sign. It is trying hard to cultivate a startup scene where tech entrepreneurs can create products and services that will go global.

Unlike the well-developed startup ecosystem in most other countries, where there are venture capitalists and a strong network of entrepreneurs working together, the system in Vietnam is at a fledgling stage, with many funding difficulties.

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Vietnam Technology Startup Attracts Foreign Enterprises

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Vietnam, Ireland ink deals to build $2.2 billion wind farms

The farms, one in the central region and the other in the south, will have a combined capacity of 940 MW.

Companies from Vietnam, Ireland and the U.S. on Monday signed cooperation agreements to build two wind farms in Vietnam worth $2.2 billion.

Part of a wind farm in the Tuy Phong District of Binh Thuan Province. Photo courtesy of Nguoi Lao dong news site

The pacts are part of various deals reached by Vietnam and Ireland during the visit to Vietnam by President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins from November 5-14.

Vietnam’s Phu Cuong Corporation will join hands with Ireland’s Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd. and the U.S. giant General Electric to set up an 800-megawatt wind farm in the southern province of Soc Trang. The project will need $2 billion.

In the second project, Vietnam’s Pacific Corporation will cooperate with Mainstream Renewable Power Ltd. to build another 140-MW wind farm in the central province of Binh Thuan, which is worth $200 million for construction.

The same day Vietnam and Ireland also signed other agreements on poverty reduction, education and training, information and communications.

Vietnam has recently revised down the target for electricity generation by coal-fired thermal power plants from 56.4 percent of the total electricity generation to 53.2 percent by 2030.

The country is more focused on renewable energy, particularly solar and wind energy, targeting a renewable energy ratio of 10.7 percent by 2030.

But that will require a lot of investment in the coming years. Wind and solar power capacity is estimated to account for only 0.8 percent and 0.5 percent of total electricity generation respectively by 2020.

With over 3,000 km of coastline and numerous islands, Vietnam has more wind power potential than most of other Southeast Asian nations with a total estimated capacity of 24,000 MW, the Vietnam News Agency has reported.

Source: Bao Vnexpress

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Fast-growing Vietnam to invest $40 billion in electricity projects by 2020

The country is also shifting attention to renewable energy to meet the needs of the economy.

Vietnam may need to invest about VND859 trillion ($38 billion) in electricity generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure between now and 2020 to meet domestic demand, the government said in a new report.

 Fishermen working near the first towers of wind turbines from a Vietnamese wind power plant. Photo by AFP

That is equivalent to 20 percent of the country's gross domestic product last year.

According to the report, about 75 percent of the investment will go to generation and the remaining 25 percent to upgrade, repair and expand the national transmission and distribution system.

The government said a majority of the investment would be funded by loans and the state budget would cover only 0.5 percent.

The average electricity consumption steadily grew at 13 percent between 2000 and 2010, and about 11 percent between 2011 and 2015, said Le Tuan Phong, deputy head of the General Directorate of Energy, under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

The country’s electricity demand is expected to continue to grow 13 percent annually in the next four years to feed the economy, which has grown above 5 percent a year on average since 1999 and is forecast to reach 6.5-7 percent in the next four years.

It is estimated that Vietnam will need about 47 billion kilowatt-hours by 2030 for the annual economic growth rate of 7 percent.

Vietnam is trying to generate enough energy for growth and for millions of people who still lack access to electricity while gradually shifting towards clean and low-carbon energy, said Tran Dinh Thien, who heads the Vietnam Economic Institute.

The government has recently revised down the target for electricity generation by coal-fired thermal power plants from 56.4 percent of the total electricity generation to 53.2 percent by 2030.

Vietnam is more focused on renewable energy, particularly solar and wind energy, targeting a renewable energy ratio of 10.7 percent by 2030.

But that will require a lot of investment in the coming years. Wind and solar power capacity is estimated to account for only 0.8 percent and 0.5 percent of total electricity generation respectively by 2020.

Source: Bao Vnexpress

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Foreign investors lay eyes on Vietnam’s renewable energy sector

Vietnam has opened up to foreign investors in a bid to meet the rising demand for power.

The World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Singapore-based renewable energy private equity fund Armstrong S.E. Clean Energy Fund have formed a partnership to invest in Gia Lai Electricity JSC (GEC).

IFC has acquired a 16 percent stake in the Ho ChiMinh City-based power company while Armstrong has taken a 20 percent share.

The move by IFC and Armstrong could spur further foreign interest in the country’s renewable energy sector.

Hydropower is the world’s largest source of renewable energy and accounts for one-fifth of the world’s electricity, according to statistics from IFC.

“As shareholders, IFC and Armstrong will not only support the company in expanding its core business in hydropower, but also help GEC become a leading company in Vietnam’s renewable energy sector,” said chief executive Le An Khang.

“Their investment is a vote of confidence in Vietnam’s hydropower sector potential and should help attract more international investors,” he continued.

Vietnam’s electricity consumption has grown twice as fast as the country’s economic growth rate in recent years. The country’s power output is expected to grow at an annual rate of 14 percent between 2015 and 2030.

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Vietnam pushes renewable energy with focus on solar power

Vietnam is grappling to generate enough energy to power the economy.

Vietnam’s electricity consumption has grown twice as fast as the country’s economic growth rate.

The average energy consumption inVietnam grew 13 percent from 2006-2010, and by about 11 percent from 2011-2015, said Le Tuan Phong, deputy head of the General Directorate of Energy. The country is on the path towards powering itself by 2030, Phong said.

The country’s power production is expected to grow at an annual rate of 14 percent between 2015 and 2030.

Fossil fuels still dominate Vietnamese energy consumption. According to the World Bank, over 66.2 percent of the country’s energy comes from fossil fuels.

Vietnam’s annual coal output is currently about 40 million tons, official statistics show.

Coal has taken over from hydro power as the leading source of electricity in Vietnam, which has recently become a net coal importer.

In response to fast growing demand for power, Vietnam is building more coal-fired thermal plants and buying electricity from neighboring China as part of measures to avoid outages.

Vietnam, however, is faced with a two-fold energy challenge. The country has to generate enough energy for economic growth and for millions of people who still lack access to energy services, while gradually shifting towards clean, low-carbon energy, said Tran Dinh Thien, head of the Vietnam Economic Institute.

“Vietnam’s economic growth still relies heavily on the exploitation of natural resources and relatively low-tech production. Industries such as cement and steel use a colossal amount of energy,” said Thien, adding that only 2 percent of local businesses are high-tech driven.

The Vietnamese government should change the country's economic structure and prioritize energy-saving industries, Thien suggested.

Half of Vietnamese households use solar energy

Along with the need to decrease the reliance on fossil fuels, the country needs to build an energy sector more focused on renewable energy, particularly solar energy.

To put Vietnam on a path to a clean energy economy, the government plans to cut coal consumption by 30 percent by 2030.

The government has also opened up its renewable energy sector to foreign investors, allowing them to invest in power generation. Official statistics show that in 2013, foreign investments in energy through the Build – Operate – Transfer model accounted for 6 percent of total installed capacity.

The country is also restructuring its power sector by breaking up its retail power monopoly EVN to develop a competitive retail power market by 2030.

Vietnam is aiming to generate enough energy to power almost every home by 2020 and increase residential solarpower usage to 50 percent of households nationwide by 2050.

Source: Bao Vnexpress

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Vietnam's revised energy plan might not be as green as it seems

Last March, Vietnam upped its planned share of renewable energy for 2030 to 10 percent, from the initial 4.5 percent. However, in the next 15 years, Vietnam also plans to increase its reliance on coal fired power, the most carbon intensive electricity source.

*Vietnam relies mostly on hydropower to produce electricity. Therefore, renewable energy in this article refers only to solar power, wind power and biomass energy.

As part of the Power Development Master Plan VII released in July 2011, the country will give priority to developing renewable energy sources. The rate of renewable power is planned to account for 4.5 percent by 2020 and six percent in 2030. However, the revised Power Development Master Plan VII released in March 2016 has adjusted those rates up.

Wind power, solar energy and biomass power contribute insignificantly to total electricity produced.

On the other hand, by 2030, the government plans to rely on coal-based plants to produce electricity, making coal fired power the dominant power source. The rate of renewable energy will only account for 10.7 percent of the country's power supplies.

Details in the Power Development Master Plan VII show that as of 2030, there will be 83 coal-based plants, but only 10 renewable plants. According to the Guardian, World Bank President Jim Yong Kim has warned that plans to build more coal-fired power plants in Asia would be a “disaster for the planet”. “If Vietnam goes forward with 40GW of coal, if the entire region implements the coal-based plans right now, I think we are finished,” he added.

 Source: Bao Vnexpress

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Vietnam sees record new business in 2016

A man welds a steel bed at a furniture factory outside Hanoi. Photo by Reuters/Kham

The new 110,000 businesses could create nearly 1.3 million jobs.

Vietnam saw a record number of business openings in 2016, shedding hopes for robust growth and strong investment in the near future.

A new report from the Ministry of Investment and Planning said the past year saw 110,000 new businesses open, up 16.2 percent from 2015. Registered capital increased 48 percent to more than VND891 trillion ($39 billion).

These new companies are expected to create nearly 1.3 million jobs, independent of the nearly 26,700 firms who suspended operations during tough times only to resume operations in the past 12 months.

Vice Minister Dang Duy Dong described the numbers as “lively.”

“With such energy and investmentopportunities, the market will surely be more competitive and the economy will leap strongly,” the government report quoted Dong as saying.

More than 36,000 new businessescame online in Ho Chi Minh City and nearly 23,000 in Hanoi.

New openings in the real estate sector increased almost 84 percent from last year, while education and healthcare openings increased 43 and 52 percent, respectively.

Arts, entertainment and agriculture businesses all dropped from last year.

But the ministry’s report also revealed a dark side of the boom.

Bankruptcies surged 32 percent to nearly 12,578, including in both agriculture and real estate.

Vietnam hopes to see over one million businesses in operation by 2020, which means an average of 100,000 openings every year.

Source: Bao Vnexpress

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