Foreign investment flows into solar energy Vietnam has become an attractive destination for Chinese and Taiwanese solar panel makers who want to make use of tax advantages to export to the US and Europe, according to Dau Tu (Investment) newspaper.   Recently, Chinese companies GCL-SI and Trina Solar signed contracts with Vietnam-based Vina Solar Technology Co., Ltd on solar cell manufacturing at Vietnamese plants. The GCL-SI company announced plans to invest 32 million USD in the partnership with Vina Solar. President of GCL-SI Shu Hua said the investment brings production cost advantages for the company and helps it arrange the supply chain. This move also increases competitiveness and allows the firm to make inroads into the US and European markets since both apply trade barriers against solar panels made in China and China’s Taiwan, according to a report of GCL-SI. With investment of 100 million USD, Trina Solar has completed the construction of a solar cell manufacturing project with annual capacity of 800MW in the northern province of Bac Giang. According to the deal, Vina Solar will supply and assemble PV modules for Trina Solar. President and CEO of Trina Solar Jifan Gao said the factory is a result of his company’s global strategy following its cell factories in Malaysia and Thailand. The cooperation will bring mutual benefits and cutting-edge solar technology for Vietnam and create about 1,000 local jobs, he added. Last November, China’s JA Solar Group launched a one-billion-USD project to build a solar cell manufacturing plant at Quang Chau industrial park in Bac Giang. The province has become a solar cell manufacturing centre in Vietnam with eight licensed projects capitalized at 635 million USD, which have total capacity of 5,200 MW a year. Global demand for solar panels is forecast to gradually increase, while installation and production costs will continue falling, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. This is why the solar cell industry in Vietnam is warming up after the failure of several projects in the past, including the 300-million-USD project of Global Sphere in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue and IC Energy’s 390-million-USD investment in the central province of Quang Nam. VNA