Time for Vietnam to Resolve Its Renewable Energy Legal Quagmire

fulcrm.sg Published 19 Nov 2025 Le Hong Hiep

In Vietnam, an impasse over feed-in-tariffs for renewable energy producers threatens foreign investors’ confidence in government policies

Afestering legal crisis is threatening to derail Vietnam’s energy development plans. 173 solar and wind projects, representing about US$13 billion in investments, are stuck in limbo due to ongoing disputes regarding their feed-in-tariffs (FITs) – the guaranteed payments that the government would pay for their contribution to the power grid. This situation raises concerns about Vietnam’s business environment and the consistency of its economic policy. If Vietnam does not resolve these disputes promptly, the country could face significant legal, financial, and reputational repercussions.

Between 2018 and 2021, Vietnam experienced a significant boom in renewable energy, primarily fuelled by the government’s commitment to offer attractive 20-year FITs to investors for projects that began commercial operations before designated deadlines. However, in 2023, an investigation by the Government Inspectorate found that many of these projects had not obtained their Construction Completion Acceptance (CCA) certificates before their Commercial Operation Date (COD). Following the inspection, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued a new circular, effective June 2023, stipulating that renewable energy projects must obtain a CCA certificate before being recognised for COD. This effectively disqualified the affected projects from receiving the original FIT rates.

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Ranked: Emerging Markets by FDI Confidence

 visualcapitalist.com June 30, 2025

This infographic ranks the top 25 emerging markets by their FDI confidence in 2025, based on a survey of global business leaders.

Key Takeaways

  • China, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia are the top three emerging markets by FDI confidence in 2025
  • Brazil overtook India to take the fourth spot, with both countries making the top five
  • Domestic economic performance and efficiency of legal and regulatory processes were the top two priorities for FDI investors

Emerging markets often attract foreign investors with prospects for higher economic growth and diversification.

Where are global business leaders placing their foreign direct investment (FDI) bets in 2025?

This chart highlights the top 25 emerging markets by FDI confidence score in 2025, based on a survey conducted by Kearney. The rankings are drawn from responses by 536 senior executives at global companies with annual revenues above $500 million.

China Leads in Foreign Investor Sentiment

China (including Hong Kong) remains the top emerging market for foreign investor confidence in 2025. However, FDI inflows have slowed in recent years, hitting multi-year lows in 2023.

Following China, the UAE and Saudi Arabia also retain their places as the second and third-most favored developing economies for FDI.

Here’s a look at the full list of top emerging markets for FDI confidence in 2025:Search:

RankCountryFDI Confidence Score
1China (including Hong Kong) 🇨🇳🇭🇰1.97
2United Arab Emirates 🇦🇪1.86
3Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦1.76
4Brazil 🇧🇷1.59
5India 🇮🇳1.53
6Mexico 🇲🇽1.51
7South Africa 🇿🇦1.48
8Poland 🇵🇱1.46
9Argentina 🇦🇷1.46
10Thailand 🇹🇭1.45

Brazil and India—two of the biggest emerging economies by GDP—round out the top five, with Brazil overtaking India in FDI confidence in the 2025 rankings.

These rankings align with investors’ FDI priorities from the same survey, where the efficiency of legal and regulatory processes and domestic economic performance top the list.

South Africa made the largest upward move in 2025, jumping from 11th to 7th in the rankings. It also recorded FDI inflows of around $661 million in Q1 2025, up 56% from the fourth quarter of 2024.

Overall, 11 of the top 25 emerging markets for FDI confidence are in Asia and the Middle East.

What’s Driving Investor Confidence?

The factors driving FDI confidence vary for each economy.

In China, tech innovation was the leading driver of investor confidence, while economic performance ranked highest for the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, the talent/skill of the labor pools in India and Mexico were the strongest factors attracting investors.