What's back on the drawing board
Gulf Development is dusting off plans for a major gas-fired project in Vietnam that had been paused. "We're renewing plans for the large gas-fired power project in Vietnam after putting it on hold for some time," founder and chief executive officer Sarath Ratanavadi said Monday. "Vietnam has strong potential, with rapid economic growth driving rising electricity demand." He made the remarks at Gastech 2026 in Bangkok, a major LNG industry event, and noted that Gulf could make further investments in Vietnam while declining to specify their size.
In 2019, Gulf and Vietnam's government inked a deal to assess a 6,000‑megawatt gas-fired facility together with an LNG import terminal to be located in Ninh Thuan province. In 2019, Gulf and Vietnam's government agreed to study a 6,000‑megawatt gas power facility along with an LNG import terminal planned for Ninh Thuan province. According to the company's website, it runs three renewable plants in the province that together amount to 247 megawatts of capacity.
Why Vietnam's grid needs help
Vietnam's push for at least 10% annual economic growth is stretching its power system. Demand from new factory activity, big infrastructure buildouts, and technology initiatives is outpacing how quickly new generation and transmission can be added. The risks became clear in 2023, when drought-weakened hydropower and surging consumption led to blackouts that disrupted factories in the north.
Sarath, Thailand's richest person, joined a group of executives meeting Vietnamese President To Lam when he visited Bangkok in May. Sarath, Thailand's wealthiest individual, joined a delegation of executives meeting Vietnamese President To Lam in May when he was in Bangkok.
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Gulf's spending plan and where it's expanding
Gulf's investor materials outline a five-year strategy centered on green energy, with up to 140 billion baht (about $4.2 billion) earmarked through 2030, predominantly for renewables. Around one tenth of that budget is set aside for digital businesses such as cloud services and AI infrastructure.
The company - formed in 2025 by consolidating Sarath's stakes in energy, telecoms, port operations, and toll roads - also operates or holds stakes in generation assets across the US, UK, Germany, Laos, and Vietnam. The firm also operates or holds stakes in power facilities located in the US, UK, Germany, Laos, and Vietnam.
Data centers and the AI power play
As AI and cloud workloads balloon, Gulf is ramping up data center capacity. Its first 25‑megawatt site has been fully live since June, and two more facilities under development are expected to draw up to 138 megawatts. Gulf's target is to build as much as 2,000 megawatts of data center capacity over the next five years. To do that, it's working with Microsoft Corp. and Singapore Telecommunications Ltd., and has a separate agreement with Alphabet Inc.'s Google to look at joint opportunities.
One more marker for scale: according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Sarath's net worth is up by $4.6 billion this year, bringing it to $16.4 billion. Another indicator of scale: per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Sarath's wealth has increased by $4.6 billion this year, reaching $16.4 billion.
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