Financial Briefs: India and overseas

India and overseas

Adani Transmission raises $700 million for under-construction assets

Adani Transmission Limited has raised $700 million for its under-construction transmission asset portfolio through definitive agreements with leading in­ternational banks. The revolving facility will finance four transmission projects of the company in Gujarat and Ma­ha­rashtra. The capex revolving structure of the facility will provide a funding of $1.1 billion on a fully drawn basis. Acc­ording to the agreement, eight international banks – DBS Bank Limited, Intesa San­paolo S.p.A., Mizuho Bank Limited, MUFG Bank Limited, Siemens Bank GmbH, Societe Generale, Standard Cha­rtered Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation – have committed to the facility.

Powergrid approves investment plans of Rs 5.52 billion

Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (Powergrid) has approved investment proposals worth around Rs 5.52 billion. It has approved a capital expenditure of Rs 4.3 billion for the procurement of telec­om equipment and the associated power systems for augmenting the telecom and access network. The company has also approved a proposal for a regional system strengthening scheme to mitigate overloading of the 400 kV NP Kunta-Kolar line, at an estimated cost of Rs 1.23 billion including interest during construction of Rs 33.9 million. The project is scheduled to be commissioned by October 2022.

Reliance New Energy Solar to acquire 49.1 million shares of Sterling & Wilson Solar

Reliance New Energy Solar Limited (RNESL) has offered Rs 375 per share to ac­­quire 49.1 million shares of Sterling and Wilson Solar Limited (SWSL) for over Rs 18.4 billion. The 49.1 million sha­res con­stitute 25.9 per cent equity stake in SWSL. The shares will be acquired from public shareholders by RNESL together with Reliance Industries Limited (PAC1) and Reliance Ventures Limited (PAC2).

Secure Meters acquires 100 per cent stake in Swiss firm Adaptricity AG

Secure Meters has acquired a 100 per cent st­ake in Adaptricity AG, a Switzer­land-based provider of smart grid solutions. Ad­aptricity is a part of German multinational firm Leoni AG, which ma­nu­factu­res wires and wire systems. Ad­aptricity AG’s modular and cloud-based solution platforms are expected to be a strategic addition to Secure Meters’ pro­duct portfolio. Secure Me­ters further plans to invest in the expansion of the technology and to integrate Adap­tri­city AG’s pro­du­cts into its international sales activities. Ad­aptricity AG will operate as a 100 per cent subsidiary of the Secure Meters Group.

Resurgent Power to acquire 100 per cent share in the NRSS XXXVI transmission project

Resurgent Power Ventures plans to acquire 100 per cent shareholding in the Northern Region Strengthening Scheme (NRSS) XXXVI, which is spread across Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand. The letter of intent selecting Resurgent as the lender’s nominee to acquire 100 per cent shareholding in the project has been issued by the lender, PTC India Financial Services (PFS). The transaction is a part of the stressed transmission asset resolution process initiated by PFS through a competitive bidding process. NRSS XXXVI was incorporated as a special purpose ve­hicle to establish and operate a transmission system, along with the LILO of the Sikar-Neemrana 400 kV D/C line at Ba­bai. NRSS XXXVI has three elements co­m­prising a total transmission line len­gth of 153 km. Resurgent Power will in­v­e­st equity and raise debt in NRSS XXXVI at a total enterprise value of Rs 4.7 billion to implement and commission the project.

India, Indonesia and the Philippines to join the Accelerating Coal Transition (ACT) programme

India, Indonesia and the Philippines will join South Africa as the first recipients of the Climate Investment Funds’ (CIF) Accelerating Coal Transition (ACT) programme – a multi-billion dollar pilot programme aimed at accelerating the transition from coal-based power to clean energy. The four countries account for 15 per cent of global emissions related to coal. The ACT programme was the first to target developing countries that lack adequate resources to finance the shift away from coal, which is crucial to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030.

Adani Power receives NCLT approval to acquire Essar’s 1,200 MW Mahan project

Adani Power Limited has received appro­val from the National Company Law Tri­bunal (NCLT) to acquire Essar Power’s 1,200 MW thermal power plant in Mahan, Madhya Pradesh. The NCLT has appro­ved the resolution plan submitted by Ada­ni Power for acquisition of Essar Power M.P. Limited (EPMPL), as the company is undergoing insolvency resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. EPMPL owns a 1,200 MW thermal po­wer plant in Singrauli district of Ma­dhya Pradesh. The deal size of the project is Rs 28 billion-Rs 30 billion.

ADB announces $665 million funding for green infrastructure projects in SEA (South­east Asia)

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced funding support of over $665 million for green infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia (SEA), to aid the region’s recovery from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. The funding was announced at the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, UK. Of the total funding, around $300 million has been pledged by the Green Climate Fund, $155 million has been pledged by CassaDepositi e Prestiti, $151 million will be contributed by the UK government and around $58 million has been committed by the European Union.