A total of 20 global investment firms sent an official letter to Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO) and Samsung C&T on Oct. 21 in order to object to their coal-fired power plant construction in Vietnam.

The 18 firms include the Church of Finland, Denmark’s MP Pension and Sweden’s Nordea Life & Pension, which is the largest asset management firm in Northern Europe. The letter was sent to 12 companies, including Mitsubishi and Mizuho Financial Group.

The firms demanded an answer as to how they will respond to climate change and corporate reputation and financial risks down the road on condition that they push ahead with the construction of the Vung Ang 2 power plant. According to Solutions for Our Climate, an environmental group, the letter is an official demand for explanation from the firms as shareholders in those companies. The 18 European firms also include Storebrand Asset Management, the largest pension fund firm in Norway. The total assets under their management amount to three trillion euros.

Earlier, KEPCO approved its investment in the plant on Oct. 5. The construction project is to build and run two plants, each with a capacity of 600 MW, in Ha Tinh. KEPCO and Mitsubishi account for 80 percent of the total equity investment and Samsung C&T and Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction are in charge of design and construction.

This article is reproduced at www.businesskorea.co.kr