Thai billionaire revives Vietnam gas projects in overseas push

Published Mon, Sep 14, 2026 · 05:39 PM

THAILAND’S largest private power producer, Gulf Development, is reviving plans for major gas-fired projects in Vietnam as billionaire Sarath Ratanavadi looks overseas for new sources of growth.

“We’re renewing plans for the large gas-fired power project in Vietnam after putting it on hold for some time,” founder and CEO Sarath said in an interview on Monday (Sep 14).

“Vietnam has strong potential, with rapid economic growth driving rising electricity demand.”

Gulf may pursue further investments in the country, he said at Gastech 2026, a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry gathering, in Bangkok. He did not specify their size.

Vietnam’s push for at least 10 per cent economic growth is intensifying pressure on its power grid, as new factories, infrastructure projects and technology development lift electricity demand faster than new generation and transmission capacity can be added.

Power blackouts in 2023 exposed the risks, when drought-hit hydropower and surging demand forced outages at factories in the north.

Gulf and the Vietnamese government in 2019 signed an agreement to study a 6,000-megawatt (MW) gas-fired plant and LNG terminal in Ninh Thuan province.

The company already operates three renewable energy projects there with combined capacity of 247 MW, according to its website.

Sarath, Thailand’s richest person, was among a group of business leaders who met Vietnamese President To Lam during his visit to Bangkok in May. 

Gulf is looking at other areas for expansion as well.

In Europe, it is exploring further investment in renewable energy projects, Sarath said, without giving details. The company is considering more spending on data centres as artificial intelligence and cloud computing increase electricity demand.

The Thai company has said it will invest up to 140 billion baht (US$4.2 billion) through 2030, mostly in renewable energy. About a tenth is earmarked for its digital businesses, including cloud services and AI infrastructure.

Its first 25-MW data centre has been fully operational since June, while two more facilities totalling as much as 138 MW of power demand are under development.

Gulf aims to add as much as 2,000 MW of data centre capacity over five years, and has partnerships with Microsoft and Singtel, as well as an agreement with Alphabet’s Google to explore business opportunities.

The company was formed in 2025 by combining Sarath’s interests across energy, telecommunications, ports and toll roads. It owns or operates power assets in the US, UK, Germany, Laos and Vietnam.

Sarath’s fortune has climbed US$4.6 billion this year to US$16.4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. BLOOMBERG