Bureaucratic and regulatory challenges persist for foreign investors
Investors unfazed by Vietnamese challenges
Foreign companies are enthusiastic about Vietnam’s LNG prospects, but risks persist
Foreign investment in Vietnamese power projects has proven difficult in the past. But the government—facing a looming shortfall in generation capacity and growing global opposition to coal—has introduced legal and regulatory reforms in an effort to improve matters. The previous, and much-stalled, generation of power projects—many of which were incorporated into the country’s Power Development Plan 7 (PDP7)—were coal-fired and developed under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) model. Vietnam brought a new public-private partnership (PPP) law into force on 1 January, with the intent of boosting private-sector investment, while the PDP8 is waiting on prime ministerial approval. Of the extensive pip
Also in this section
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026
14 January 2026
Chavez’s socialist reforms boosted state control but pushed knowledge and capital out of the sector, opening the way for the US shale revolution
