Singapore-based InfraCo Asia offers $4mn loan to Vietnamese electric motorbike manufacturer Dat Bike
Thursday, August 29, 2024, 17:05 GMT+7
InfraCo Asia, headquartered in Singapore, an arm of the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), has provided a US$4m convertible loan to Vietnamese electric motorbike manufacturing company Dat Bike.
The loan will allow Dat Bike to more than double its production capacity through facility expansion, tool optimization, and increased automation.
In turn, Dat Bike is expected to be able to manufacture more than 30,000 e-motorbikes over the next two years.
The loan is particularly meaningful amid the rapid growth of the Vietnamese electric motorbike market.
Vietnam led Southeast Asia in electric motorbike market penetration in 2023, reaching 16 percent, with projections indicating that this figure could climb to 40 percent by 2040.
To date, Dat Bike has secured over $25 million in loans to support its operations.
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| The $4-million loan provided by InfraCo Asia is expected to help Dat Bike expand its production. Photo: Dat Bike |
Nguyen Ba Canh Son, a former technological engineer from Silicon Valley and founder of Dat Bike, has set an ambitious goal for his company to become a leading electric motorbike manufacturer in Vietnam and Southeast Asia, where the market is valued at $8 billion and $25 billion respectively.
Over the past five years, Dat Bike has launched four e-motorbike models, with its latest model, the Quantum, priced at nearly VND50 million ($2,000).
This model boasts a 270-km range, a 7kW power output, and rapid charging capabilities.
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| The Dat Bike production facility in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Dat Bike |
PIDG is an innovative infrastructure development and finance organization which encourages and mobilizes private investment in pioneering infrastructure in Africa and South and Southeast Asia to promote economic development and combat poverty.
The group is funded by the governments of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Australia, Sweden, and Germany, as well as the International Finance Corporation.
InfraCo Asia was established in 2009 and invests in a range of sectors with renewable energy and agriculture in South and Southeast Asia being priority areas.
Before Dat Bike, InfraCo Asia had invested in the Coc San hydropower plant in northern Lao Cai Province and a 168MWp solar power plant in Ninh Thuan Province, south central Vietnam.
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