UK-Based Investment Firm to Raise US$ 500M for Green Tech Projects in Asia

By | 2 March, 2012

UK-based Sustainable Development Capital LLP has announced plans to raise about US$ 500 million in the next three years to finance companies involved in green technologies in the Asia region, reports Reuters.

In this file photo, worker fixes a solar panel at a factory in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province. A UK-based investment firm is planning to raise US$ 500 million in the next five years for Asia-based green tech projects. (AP)

Jonathan Maxwell, CEO of the London-based investment and advisory firm says the company will tap funds from various sources, including private equity funds, pension funds, and individual investors. Maxwell notes that clean-tech projects usually need government incentives in order to be sustainable. “We view energy efficiency as the largest source of clean energy and greenhouse gas emission cuts and almost certainly the most profitable source of clean energy that doesn’t require massive state subsidies,” he adds.

Energy-efficient initiatives include those that utilize cleaner energy-generation technologies such as solar and wind-powered plants, energy-efficient building designs, and efficient equipment at manufacturing facilities. These also include retrofitting existing factories with more energy-efficient technologies.

Sustainable Development says the region will require more than US$ 100 billion in investments annually to bolster clean-tech initiatives in building design and energy generation. The company will develop energy-efficient projects through a 50-50 joint venture undertaking with Hong Kong based First Eastern Investment Group, which has investments in infrastructure projects in China. The firm will also seek both debt and equity financing to provide for US$ 100 million worth of projects in the region.



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