SEMBCORP Industries U96 and Keppel Group BN4 c : BN4 0%ollectively inked 6 agreements with Vietnam to support the country’s energy transition and sustainable development while President Nguyen Xuan Phuc is in Singapore on a state visit on Friday (Feb 25). 

Four were signed with Sembcorp Industries.

Sembcorp’s first agreement covers the commencement of the development of Vietnam Singapore Industrial Park (VSIP) Binh Duong (park III) by the energy and urban development company and Becamex IDC, a Vietnam industrial development corporation.

The park will incorporate smart technology across its operations, including energy, water and waste use, as well as traffic and security management, it said in a bourse filing around noon.

As part of the park's masterplan, Sembcorp will look into providing sustainable solutions such as micro-grid-integrated solar and battery storage, wastewater recovery and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.

Its second collaboration is with state-owned Vietnam Electricity, to further the country's green sustainable development.

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Both companies have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to exchange best practices in enhancing efficiency and reliability of the power system with smart grids and energy storage systems, as well as developing renewable energy products.

Sembcorp has also signed an MOU with the Eastern International University of Vietnam (EIU), a university in the Binh Duong province of Vietnam, to establish the EIU-Sembcorp Centre for Sustainable Solutions.

The centre aims to promote capability building among the students and faculty, as well as offer opportunities for them to embark on industry-related research projects and develop new technologies for commercial implementation, it stated.

The last agreement inked is an MOU among Sembcorp, EIU, Becamex, Singapore Polytechnic International and the Singapore-based Smart i4.0 Transformation Alliance (SiTA) to create a Vietnam-Singapore i4.0 Innovation Centre at the Vietnam university.

Through VSIP, the centre's objectives include accelerating the adoption of industry 4.0 (i4.0) technology in Vietnam's manufacturing industry and offering training, consultancy, best-in-class products and services to small and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises based in VSIP and Becamex-owned industrial parks.

The centre will be co-funded by VSIP and Becamex, while training to students will be provided at EIU and supported by SiTA and Singapore Polytechnic International, a wholly-owned subsidiary of tertiary education institution Singapore Polytechnic.

Keppel said in a separate bourse filing after the market closed that the group has signed 2 MOUs with Vietnamese conglomerate Sovico Group, through their respective subsidiaries.

They are to collaborate to explore the development and roll-out of energy and environmental solutions, as well as identify, develop, operate and manage smart and sustainable projects in Vietnam’s key gateway cities, starting with Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, Keppel pointed out.

One of the agreements is between Sovico and Keppel Infrastructure, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Keppel Energy Ventures. 

Keppel said their collaboration will focus on scalable decarbonisation solutions, including the electrification of vehicles and charging infrastructure, smart microgrids, and sustainable energy-from-waste. 

The parties will also collaborate on harnessing the vast renewable energy potential in Vietnam for the development of sustainable fuel for sectors like power, industrial, maritime transportation and aviation, where carbon emissions may be harder to abate. 

For the aviation sector, the sustainable fuel can be supplied to VietJet Air, which is majority owned by Sovico, for a start, and subsequently rolled out to other airlines, Keppel added.

The other MOU is for a urban development-related collaboration between Keppel Land and Keppel Urban Solutions, and Sovico Group and Phu Long Real Estates Joint Stock Company, a member of Sovico Group. 

It comes on the back of binding heads of agreement entered into by Keppel Land Vietnam Properties, Keppel Vietnam Fund and its co-investor through jointly held special purpose vehicles, together with Phu Long and its subsidiary. 

The heads of agreement was in relation to an acquisition of a 49 per cent interest in 3 residential land plots totalling 14.2 ha, in Mailand Hanoi City, that was announced in January 2022.

Both Sembcorp and Keppel stated that the agreements are not expected to have a material impact on earnings per share and net asset value per share of their companies for the financial year 2022.

On Friday, Sembcorp shares closed up 4.5 per cent or S$0.11 at S$2.56, while Keppel shares closed up 1.7 per cent or S$0.10 at S$5.96.