HSBC lends $23m for Malaysian firm's Vietnam solar project

HO CHI MINH CITY -- HSBC and Leader Energy of Malaysia have inked a financing deal worth 593 billion Vietnamese dong ($23.3 million) for a solar power plant in the southern Vietnamese seaside province of Binh Thuan.

Leader Energy will use the seven-year loan to refinance its power plant, which generates 83,000 megawatt-hours of electricity a year, offsetting 75,000 metric tonnes of carbon, according to a statement on Monday. Group CEO Jenny Ng said investments in Vietnam will help her company hit its target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The power producer is transitioning from coal and diesel to renewable energy.