Building a competitive and transparent energy market.

To achieve sustainable development and overcome current shortcomings, the energy sector needs to fully and strictly adhere to the principles of the market mechanism.

On the afternoon of December 18th, in Hanoi , the forum "Building a Competitive and Transparent Energy Market: Challenges and Opportunities for Businesses" was held to discuss solutions for creating a sustainable development space for the energy business community.

Speaking at the forum, Mr. Hoang Quang Phong, Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said that in recent years, Vietnam's energy sector has achieved many important accomplishments, basically meeting the goals in the national energy development strategy with a vision to 2050.

Mr. Hoang Quang Phong, Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), delivered the opening remarks. Photo: Trung Dung.

Accordingly, restructuring the energy sector is an essential requirement to gradually form a healthy, transparent, and competitive energy market, while ensuring political and social stability. In this process, it is necessary to promote the leading role of state-owned enterprises in key sectors, while clearly separating production and business tasks from political and public service responsibilities. Simultaneously, it is crucial to improve mechanisms and policies to encourage stronger participation of the private sector in energy investment, operation, and service provision.

To realize the goal of building a competitive and transparent energy market, delegates at the forum suggested that a comprehensive set of solutions needs to be implemented. First and foremost, it is necessary to decisively and effectively implement the resolutions of the Party and the National Assembly related to energy development, especially the recently adopted resolution on mechanisms and policies for national energy development for the period 2026-2030.

Regarding market management and supervision, it is necessary to strengthen efforts to protect fair competition and consumer rights. Simultaneously, the application of digital technology is identified as a key solution to enhance the transparency and efficiency of the energy market. Building a centralized market data system and applying artificial intelligence in supply and demand forecasting, transaction monitoring, and anomaly detection will contribute to minimizing risks and increasing confidence among businesses and investors.

Experts believe that space for sustainable development needs to be created for the energy business community. Photo: Trung Dung.

According to Dr. Nguyen Quoc Thap, Chairman of the Vietnam Petroleum Association, building a modern energy market is not just a matter of supply, but a complete system comprising five pillars: primary supply, infrastructure and supply chain, transparent competitive market, technology and green transformation, and long-term investment capacity.

According to Dr. Nguyen Quoc Thap, one of the major bottlenecks currently is that the energy pricing mechanism does not fully reflect actual costs, undermining investment incentives. In addition, energy infrastructure lacks interconnectedness along the value chain, while Petrovietnam's pivotal role has not been fully realized due to institutional obstacles.

"A healthy competitive market still needs a strong core force to regulate and stabilize it during periods of volatility, and Petrovietnam is that pillar," emphasized Dr. Nguyen Quoc Thap.

At the forum, discussions also focused on various issues such as: building a pricing mechanism for electricity – a core element of a competitive electricity market, investing in and upgrading the electricity system and market infrastructure, and developing smart grids…

The presentations all emphasized the importance of encouraging and facilitating greater participation of both domestic and foreign private sectors in the energy market. This requires a stable investment environment, consistent policies, a reasonable risk-sharing mechanism, and equitable access to resources such as land, capital, infrastructure, and market information.

Source: https://nongnghiepmoitruong.vn/xay-dung-thi-truong-nang-luong-canh-tranh-minh-bach-d790144.html