EnergyOMNI's Perspectives I Vietnam Proposes Minimum USD 379 Million Charter Capital for Offshore Wind Developers

Edited by EnergyOMNI

Vietnamese authorities project an economic growth rate of over 8% in 2025, aiming for 10% in 2026, and anticipate maintaining double-digit growth between 2026 and 2030. National power demand is forecast to rise 12-14% annually.

Earlier, the Vietnamese government passed Resolution No. 70 (Resolution 70-NQ/TW), establishing a long-term national energy security strategy through 2030. The resolution prioritizes renewable and clean energy, accelerates the transformation of Vietnam's power sector toward a competitive market, and encourages investment participation from both domestic and foreign private sectors. To meet future energy and power demand, the Ministry of Industry and Trade recently proposed a draft resolution to address bottlenecks in the 2026–2030 energy development. The draft proposes that offshore wind developers operating in Vietnam meet the following conditions:

• Minimum charter capital of at least VND 10 trillion (approximately USD 379 million)
• Equity of at least 15% of a project's total investment
• Business registration must include electricity generation and power operations
  

The resolution is still at the draft stage and has not yet been approved by the National Assembly.

Under Vietnam's Investment Law, offshore wind is classified as a "conditional investment sector." In March this year, the government issued Decree No. 58/2025, providing general policy regulations for offshore wind development. It also sets specific eligibility requirements for offshore wind developers, particularly for foreign investors seeking to invest in Vietnam's adjacent waters. According to Decree No. 58, foreign investors planning offshore wind projects in Vietnam must meet the following conditions:

• Have implemented at least one offshore wind project in Vietnam or abroad, or have participated in the project management, design, or construction of offshore wind project s. In other words, experience is paramount.
• Demonstrate financial capacity. Specifically, their participating interest must be at least 15% of total investment capital, and their equity must be at least 20% of that participating interest.
• Establish a joint venture with a state-owned or state-controlled enterprise. As mentioned above, foreign ownership is capped at 95%. The "domestic enterprises" must be wholly state-owned enterprises (SOEs) or firms with SOEs holding more than a 50% stake.

Additionally, during the development and operation of projects in Vietnam, foreign investors must commit to giving priority to local employees, goods, and services.

In the first half of 2025, Vietnam announced a revised Eighth National Power Development Plan (PDP8), targeting 6–17 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030 and 113–139 GW by 2050. According to a report released in April by the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting (NCHMF), Vietnam's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) has an estimated wind power potential of 1,068 GW, with 894 GW in the south and 174 GW in the north. Nearshore areas have a potential of 57.8 GW, while offshore areas could reach 1,010 GW.

Currently, Vietnam only has nearshore wind projects (within 6 nautical miles offshore), with a cumulative capacity of 875 MW, and has not developed substantial offshore wind projects. In 2025 Global Offshore Wind Report, GWEC assessed that Vietnam's 2030 target of 6 GW offshore wind is overly optimistic, with no significant offshore wind farms expected to be operational by 2030. Between 2031 and 2034, approximately 4.5 GW of offshore wind may be connected to the grid.