Chinese solar panel manufacturer Trina Solar intends to bring its overall investment in Vietnam to almost $900 million by investing an additional $420 million in Thai Nguyen, a province in the country's north. Investing $400 million in a new factory in Vietnam is one of the largest solar panel manufacturers in the world by sales.
Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang and Trina's chairperson, Gao Jifan, said in a statement that they anticipated receiving government support for local rooftop solar power project research and investment. Founded in 1997, Trina is one of Vietnam's largest manufacturers of solar panels. It has two plants located in Thai Nguyen, around 82 kilometers away from the country's capital, Hanoi. It needed to be clarified from the statement whether a third Trina Vietnam facility would be part of the investment or if it would be used for other initiatives like growing the company's current plants.
Trina's expansion in Vietnam comes after an August U.S. Department of Commerce probe found that Trina was one of five Chinese solar companies that used operations in Thailand and other Southeast Asian nations to avoid taxes on Chinese-made panels. According to figures from the Vietnamese government, China and Hong Kong together were the largest foreign investors in Vietnam during the first ten months of this year.