Tokyo Gas Asia buys nearly 25% stake in Vietnam's PV Gas D

Tokyo Gas Asia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tokyo Gas, has acquired a 24.9% stake in Vietnam's PV Gas D which is a subsidiary of PV Gas.

A liquefied natural gas tanker operated by Energy Advance Co., a unit of Tokyo Gas Co. (Photo: Bloomberg)
A liquefied natural gas tanker operated by Energy Advance Co., a unit of Tokyo Gas Co. (Photo: Bloomberg)

According to Tokyo Gas, Japan's biggest city gas supplier, the stake is estimated to cost approximately US$49 million, but the company did not reveal the exact price for the stake in PV Gas D.

Vietnam is the second country after Malaysia which Tokyo Gas has bought equity interest from to participate in distributing gas in the country.

Along with the equity interest acquisition, Tokyo Gas Asia and PV Gas D have agreed on a strategic alliance (SAA), under which Tokyo Gas will utilise its technologies and expertise in such areas as demand development and introduction of energy-saving technologies to improve the PV Gas D's business value.

In March 2012, Tokyo Gas and PV Gas signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation on the development of the LNG value chain in Vietnam and have been in discussions since then on the specifics of what the cooperation will entail.

The acquisition of the stake in PV Gas D is the second cooperation under the MoU after the establishment of LNG Vietnam JSC.

LNG Vietnam JSC was set up in August 2016 by Tokyo Gas Asia in partnership with PV Gas and Vietnam's Bitexco which accumulates to a total chartered capital of VND100 billion (US$4.4 million).