Vietnam’s steel maker Hoa Phat said that it had acquired the Roper Valley iron ore mine project in Australia, marking the company’s first step to secure its own supplies in the world’s biggest iron ore producer. The project is estimated to have 320 million tonnes of reserves, with mining capacity at four million tonnes per year, Hoa Phat said in a statement. A Hoa Phat spokesperson declined to disclose financial details, citing a confidentiality agreement. Hoa Phat said it was also looking to acquire coking coal mines and more iron ore projects in Australia to fulfil at least 50% of its demand, equivalent to 10 million tonnes of steel per year. Founded in 1992, Hoa Phat, which has a market capitalisation of more than $9.6 billion, is Vietnam’s largest steel maker with a crude steel production capacity of eight million tonnes a year, according to the company’s filing.

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In April this year, VinFast flagged that it would IPO in the United States. VinFast may merge with a SPACs company to list shares to raise at least $2 billion. This has created a lot of excitement for the domestic financial investors. However, the IPO plan of VinFast may have to be delayed until the second quarter this year. The main reason is that there is still much uncertainty about SPACs regulations in the United States. The Vietnamese automaker has added JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank to a team advising it on a planned U.S. listing, a group executive said, but sources said Vietnam’s likely first U.S. listing faces a delay due to uncertainty over regulations. “Vinfast is working with advisers including JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank in the syndicate for the U.S. listing,” said Le Thi Thu Thuy, vice chairwoman of Vinfast‘s parent Vingroup JSC. JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank declined to comment. VinFast chose to work with those two financial institutions because JPMorgan is regarded to have rich experience in dealing with SPACs and Deutsche Bank has many years of experience working with VinFast. So far, no clear plan or timetable about VinFast’s IPO has been released because of regulations related to SPACs in the States. Recently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has stepped up scrutiny of SPACs. The SPACs’ disclosures, fees, conflicts and sponsor compensations need to be addressed more thoroughly. VinFast so far has been considered to be the leading Vietnamese car company in Vietnam and has been on the favorite list of many Vietnamese car lovers. 

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International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a $57-million financing to Thuan Binh Wind Power JSC (TBW), a subsidiary of Vietnamese listed Refrigeration Electrical Engineering Corporation (REE), which will enable to develop the construction of two onshore wind power plants. The IFC loan also includes financing under its innovative syndications platform that allows institutional partners to commit funds for a set of future loans of the lender. The Vietnam-based wind power plants, Phu Lac 2 in Binh Thuan province and Loi Hai 2 in Ninh Thuan province, have a combined capacity of 54.2 MW and will generate about 170 million KWh of clean energy per year once they start operating later this year. With a large pipeline of wind and solar power projects, a financing package from IFC will help the company channel that renewable energy potential into operation. “The wind power sector in Vietnam is still in its nascent stage but has very large-scale potential. IFC’s engagement will demonstrate viability to investors and help mobilise the much-needed funding to help realise Vietnam’s cleaner, renewable energy potential,” said Kyle Kelhofer, IFC’s country manager for Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos.

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Researchers from the architecture and civil engineering departments at Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, published an article outlining a new concept for rechargeable batteries, made of cement. Emma Zhang, formerly of Chalmers University of Technology, joined professor Luping Tang’s research group several years ago to search for the “building materials of the future.” Together they have succeeded in developing a world-first concept for a rechargeable cement-based battery. The concept involves first a cement-based mixture, with small amounts of short carbon fibres added to increase the conductivity and flexural toughness. Then, embedded within the mixture is a metal-coated carbon fibre mesh, iron for the anode, and nickel for the cathode. After much experimentation, this is the prototype the researchers now present. “Results from earlier studies investigating concrete battery technology showed low performance, so we realized we had to think out of the box, to come up with another way to produce the electrode,” Zhang said. “This particular idea we have developed, which is also rechargeable, has never been explored before. Now we have proof of concept at lab scale.” Tang and Zhang’s research produced a rechargeable cement-based battery with an average energy density of 7 Wh/m2 (or 0.8 Wh/L). Energy density is used to express the capacity of the battery, and an estimate is the performance of the new Chalmers battery could be more than ten times that of earlier attempts at concrete batteries. The energy density is still low in comparison to commercial batteries, but this limitation could be overcome thanks to the large volume at which the battery could be constructed when used in buildings. “Since concrete infrastructure is usually built to last 50 or even 100 years, the batteries would need to be refined to match this, or to be easier to exchange and recycle when their service life is over. For now, this offers a major challenge from a technical point of view,” said Zhang.

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Sony Group (SONY) plans to pump more money into its businesses in the next three years in order to drive growth. The Japanese multinational operates a diverse business portfolio, including manufacturing of electronics for professionals and consumers, film production, and videogames publishing. Chairman, President and CEO Yoshida Kenichiro unveiled the firm’s strategic plan for the three years from fiscal 2021. Yoshida said the company will reinforce its gaming and anime content businesses. In a recent annual corporate strategy meeting, Sony confirms it has allocated 2 trillion yen ($18 billion) for major investments across its key segments including gaming, music, streaming, and film. It’s likely Sony is eyeing more major gaming acquisitions, but the company will diversify its investments and is careful with studio buyouts. The money will go to intellectual property rights-related businesses, various technologies and efforts to increase customer numbers. When it comes to content, for example, the company wants to increase the collaboration between its entertainment units such as movies, games, and music. Specifically, Sony wants to ensure that it maximizes the value of an IP by capitalizing on it throughout its creative units. Also, the company will work to increase its services for independent artists, and it counts on the recently completed AWAL acquisition to assist with that goal. The company’s planned technology investment will seek to provide creators with better tools to produce their creative work. Simultaneously, the company will seek to offer customers better technology to consume its content. 

Sources of information include Reuters, The Leader, Fast Company, Nikkei Asia.