SolarBK, BIC Insurance, BIDV offer households access to solar energy

It has also signed a deal with lender BIDV for providing loans to customers to buy its BigK solar energy solutions.

SolarBK will subsidize the first year interest on loans for people borrowing to buy BigK solutions between September 20 and October 31 from BIDV Vung Tau-Con Dao.

A BIDV spokesperson said, "This is the first time ever in Vietnam that a third party like BIC has come forward to guarantee the output and a bank has agreed to provide finance to a solar energy company."

With the government adopting policies to encourage the use of solar power, this market in Vietnam is growing rapidly. But public awareness of this field is quite low resulting in many new companies doing disorganized business and providing customers with poor quality products, discrediting the solar power industry and Vietnamese enterprises in particular.

According to SolarBK, Vietnamese customers tend to prefer foreign brands when trying out a new product or service due to the belief they are superior to local products. Therefore, the company decided to bring in a third party to guarantee the quality.

A SolarBK spokesperson said, "It not only helps enhance the Vietnam brand’s reputation, but is also a way to encourage other Vietnamese companies to invest in renewable energy, which remains a new field."

Nguyen Ngoc Quynh, chief business officer of SolarBK, said in the context that Circular 16 expires in less than a year the company has tried to find partners in insurance and banking for customer support.

"The insurance is a chance for 'Made in Vietnam' solar energy products to prove their capacity and value are comparable with international products, SolarBK in this case."

SolarBK, BIC Insurance and BIDV executives at the signing ceremony

Quynh also explained that the reasonable prices and good quality of her company’s products result from the fact that SolarBK has deployed initiatives in producing PV panels and technology.

The completion of its new factory, IREX (500 MWp capacity), helps SolarBK not only control the quality but also optimize costs, she said.

"IREX solar panels have a lifespan of 25-30 years and achieved international certification such as UL and TUV, which allows them to be exported to many countries.”

Time for insurance, banking to join hands with solar

BIC and BIDV are two of the first companies to join the solar energy market in Vietnam. At the signing ceremony Le Manh Hung, CEO of BIDV Vung Tau-Con Đao, said this is a new product pack that involves many techniques and long learning time, and it is an entirely new field that makes financial institutions extremely worried.

"However, BIDV has shared with SolarBK the dream and aspiration of Vietnamese people in the field that we want to be pioneers. This is the reason for comprehensive warranty cooperation, and together we work to make the Vietnamese dream come true.”

Workers install BigK solar panels for a customer.

Tran Hoai An, CEO of BIC Insurance, said together with BIDV and SolarBK/SolarGATES his company would offer “Green Insurance for Clean Power Source” as a guarantee for SolarGATES' customers.

"To secure collaboration with BIDV and BIC within a short time, SolarBK had to prove its ability to develop projects. The partnerships reflect our commitments to product and service quality, showing the long-term vision, financial capacity and well-organized business developing plans in this field".

Within two months of introducing its BigK solar power solutions for households, the company has installed panels with a total capacity of nearly 180 kWp nation-wide.

SolarBK’s goal is to bring solar power to millions of households in Vietnam and ensure people think of BigK whenever they talk about solar energy.