What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

Our legal team has recently been instrumental in the structuring of the group of companies for doing rooftop solar business in Vietnam with the total capacity of up to 20MW. It opens up more opportunities for our group in driving several renewable energy projects, securing more energy pipelines, and expanding its green effort in Vietnam.

In addition, our team was deeply involved in negotiating and working with the group of lenders for the prepayment of a part of an existing $161m syndicated loan facilities arranged and provided by ADB, Leading Asia’s Private Sector Infrastructure Fund (LEAP), Bangkok Bank, Kasikornbank, Kiatnakin Phatra Bank, ICBC, and Standard Chartered Bank. The purpose of loan facilities is to provide financing for our 200MW solar farm in Vietnam, which was demerged from 420MW Dau Tieng Tay Ninh Solar Power Complex.

Could you share an example of a time when you came up with an innovation that improved how your legal team works and did not come at a large expense?

Given the fact that our legal team handles a significant volume of contracts and legal works each year, in order to manage the workload and to enhance the effectiveness of the work, we have prepared an internal legal procedure review and assessment to provide awareness, consistency and direction for our team members in determining when the legal review is required. This procedure also supports us in simplifying the work and prioritising high-value matters, contributing to providing a sharp focus and effective time management despite the low cost.

How do you see the general counsel role evolving in Vietnam over the next five-ten years?

It is expected that the general counsel will take a more crucial role from a traditional legal advisor to a position as a strategic advisor providing value-added advice to the board members and senior management in the next decade. In-house counsel are expected not only to proactively provide advice on the legal matters or to identify and manage impending legal risks, but also to embed themselves in the corporation’s business. As a result, the role of the general counsel is increasingly expanding as they become more strategic and gain significant influence in the decision-making processes of their organisation.

What are some of the main trends impacting your industry in Vietnam?

There are two major trends that materially impact our business as a clean power generation developer in Vietnam. Particularly, by signing up to a Just Energy Transition Partnership (“JETP”) in 2022, Vietnam commits to reduce the volume of emission from coal-fired plants by setting a limit for the total capacity of the coal-fired resources and shifting towards renewable energy. Following such event, in May 2023 the Government of Vietnam has finally approved the long-awaited National Power Development Masterplan (“PDP8”), which lays down the roadmap for the national power development in the next ten years. With the official release of PDP8, the production of renewable energies is undoubtedly encouraged to develop as a means to enhance the country’s energy security and sustainable development, contributing to achieve the government’s commitment for net zero carbon emissions by 2050. While these expansions offer us more opportunities, we also face many challenges as the legal framework and the actual implementation of the new PDP8 are not finalised yet.