According to information released by the Hanoi Stock Exchange, Trung Nam Thuan Nam Solar Power Co., Ltd. posted a loss of more than VND969 billion (US$38 million) in 2025. The result contrasts sharply with 2024, when the company recorded after-tax profit of around VND138 billion (US$5.4 million) following several years of heavy losses.

The latest losses pushed the company’s accumulated deficit to more than VND1.818 trillion (US$71.3 million) by the end of 2025. Its equity also fell significantly, from more than VND1.562 trillion (US$61.3 million) to around VND593 billion (US$23.3 million).

Notably, the project is among 173 renewable energy projects facing unresolved feed-in tariff (FiT) pricing issues, leaving a substantial volume of electricity output awaiting payment.

The Trung Nam Thuan Nam solar power plant forms part of a broader project combining a 500kV substation, 220/500kV transmission lines and a solar power facility. Developed by Trung Nam Group with total investment of VND12 trillion (US$471 million), the project includes a 450MW solar power plant, a substation and more than 17km of dual-circuit 500kV transmission lines, along with four 220kV transmission lines.

The 450MW solar project was officially granted commercial operation date (COD) status from October 1, 2020, and is currently subject to two separate electricity pricing mechanisms under Decision No. 13/2020/QD-TTg.

Under the scheme, 277.88MW of capacity qualifies for the preferential FiT rate of 9.35 US cents/kWh after meeting COD requirements before January 1, 2021 and falling within Ninh Thuan Province’s cumulative 2,000MW solar power quota.

The remaining 172.12MW falls under the transitional pricing category. Since May 2023, this portion has only received a temporary tariff equal to 50% of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s transitional price framework, equivalent to around 2.34 US cents/kWh. Before that, electricity generated from this capacity had not been paid for.

Across the entire project, the average electricity selling price currently stands at only around 7.56 US cents/kWh, even if the transitional capacity secures the maximum allowed tariff under the ministry’s pricing framework. Analysts say the lower-than-expected pricing has significantly affected the project’s financial efficiency compared with the original investment plan.

The investor previously warned that the situation had made it difficult to secure sufficient funding for operating and maintaining the Thuận Nam 500kV transmission system.

A rapidly expanding renewable energy empire

Trung Nam Thuan Nam is the investor behind the 450MW solar power project integrated with a 220/500kV substation and transmission lines in Ninh Thuan Province. The project was once considered one of Vietnam’s largest solar power developments.

Its parent company, Trung Nam Group, was founded in 2004 and operates across energy, infrastructure construction, real estate and electronics manufacturing.

Originally focused on infrastructure construction, Trung Nam Group later expanded aggressively into real estate and hydropower before shifting major resources into renewable energy over the past decade. The group emerged as one of Vietnam’s largest private investors in wind and solar power.

The company has developed a series of large-scale projects across multiple provinces, including the Trung Nam Thuan Nam solar power plant, Ea Nam wind power project, Trung Nam Tra Vinh wind power project and several renewable energy developments in Ninh Thuan and Dak Lak provinces.

According to information published on the company’s website, by October 2021 Trung Nam Group had contributed around 1.63GW of electricity capacity to the national grid, making it the leading private renewable energy investor in Vietnam at that time.

Its rapid expansion also drove a sharp increase in asset size. By the end of 2022, the group’s total assets had reached around VND96 trillion (US$3.77 billion).

However, developing multiple large-scale power projects within a short period also forced the group to rely heavily on bank loans and corporate bonds.

According to reports published on the Hanoi Stock Exchange, Trung Nam Group’s total liabilities still stood at more than VND63.5 trillion (US$2.49 billion) by mid-2024, although this had declined from more than VND69 trillion (US$2.71 billion) at the end of 2023.

Outstanding corporate bond debt remained above VND20.4 trillion (US$801 million), down from more than VND25.7 trillion (US$1 billion) previously, but still among the largest bond debts in Vietnam’s corporate market.

Analysts say renewable energy companies are currently facing multiple challenges, including heavy upfront investment costs, reliance on debt financing, previously high interest rates and ongoing changes in electricity pricing mechanisms and grid capacity mobilisation.

For Trung Nam Group specifically, legal issues related to preferential electricity pricing mechanisms are seen as an additional source of financial and fundraising pressure.

Manh Ha