Armstrong’s clean energy infrastructure fund signs first solar deal in Thailand with Symbior Energy
New private equity fund to acquire 60% interest in portfolio of small-scale solar power plants
Singapore, 13 May 2013 – Armstrong South East Asia Clean Energy Fund has agreed to a strategic cooperation with energy developer Symbior Solar Siam, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based energy company Symbior Energy, to develop and operate a portfolio of solar power generation projects in Central and Northeast Thailand. The portfolio of six small-scale solar power plants will deliver a combined capacity of 30 MW to the Thai national grid.
Under the deal, the private-equity fund will invest capital into Symbior Solar Siam’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Symbior Elements Pte Ltd, which holds development and operating rights for the solar projects including land ownership rights, in return for a 60% equity interest. The investment is the first from the newly established Armstrong fund focused on clean energy infrastructure in Southeast Asia’s emerging markets.
The solar projects in the portfolio comprise an operational 1 MW solar photovoltaic (PV) power plant in Northeast Thailand and five solar PV power plants in late-stage development totalling 29 MW located in the central provinces of Chachaengsao, Prachin Buri, and Nakan Sawan.
Andrew Affleck, Managing Partner of Singapore-based Armstrong Asset Management said, “We are very pleased to announce this partnership with Symbior Solar Siam. We look forward to building on our excellent working relationship with the Symbior team whose established local operations and international experience in project development, engineering, and clean energy financing provides a strong platform for growth.”
Florian Bennhold, Chief Executive Officer of Symbior Solar Siam said, “It is great to establish this synergy with Armstrong Asset Management. Symbior and Armstrong share a commitment to the potential and need for rapid growth in the development of clean, efficient and low risk energy solutions and the experience of the Armstrong team in small-scale infrastructure investment in Southeast Asia is a powerful complement to our activities in Thailand.”
The USD150 million Armstrong South East Asia Clean Energy Fund, which is scheduled for final close by August this year, received committed capital totalling USD65 million at its first close in August 2012 from European development institutions GEEREF and DEG, and an Asia-based corporation. The 10-year Armstrong fund is investing in small-scale renewable energy and resource efficiency infrastructure projects in Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and other Southeast Asian emerging markets. Typical projects sizes will generate power of up to 10 megawatt (MW) from renewable energy resources, such as solar, hydro and wind.
Thailand’s renewable energy market is the most established in Southeast Asia with a target of 25% of total energy to come from renewable sources by 2021. The Thai solar sector is maturing rapidly with the presence of many world class equipment suppliers and service providers.
About Armstrong Asset Management
Armstrong Asset Management is an independent asset manager, based in Singapore, focused on the clean energy sector in Southeast Asia’s emerging markets. Armstrong’s first fund will invest in small-scale infrastructure projects and is on track to achieve a final target closing of US$150 million by August 2013. Armstrong’s multi-disciplinary team consists of eight investment professionals with deep sector knowledge and a collective 80 years of operating experience in SE Asia. Armstrong integrates strict environmental, social and governance compliance into its investment process to deliver tangible benefits and reduce risks for all of its stakeholders. For more info, please visit www.armstrongam.com
About Symbior Solar Siam
Established in 2010, Symbior Solar Siam (SSS) is a graduate of Symbior Energy, the Hong Kong-based energy venture incubator. SSS has been developing a distributed energy generation platform in rural Thailand using solar PV technology which now includes a pipeline of projects and implementation plans to deploy 200MW of solar PV generative capacity in the Kingdom by 2015. Symbior Solar Siam deploys innovative technical solutions and best-in-class operating practices to build high level partnerships with brand names in manufacturing, engineering, finance and insurance in order to secure and accelerate the success of its enterprise. True to Symbior Energy’s Sustainable Energy Solutions concepts, the company’s small-scale solar PV power plants provide rural regions of Thailand with clean energy supplies which support sustainable and equitable growth. For more info, please visit http://www.symbiorenergy.com/solarsiam
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