Hind Power hopes to seal solar asset sale with Macquarie by November
For MAIF, the deal with Hindustan Power, once it goes through, would mark the entry into India’s renewable space
OCTOBER, OCTOBER 23: Delhi-based Hindustan Powerprojects Pvt Ltd (Hindustan Power) expects to conclude by November a deal to sell some of its solar assets to Macquarie Asia Infrastructure Fund (MAIF).
A spokesperson for Hindustan Power confirmed to BusinessLine that the deal was on track.
“The due diligence process is going on as Macquarie, as any other foreign investor, is very particular about project details, especially when it comes to land issues. Unfortunately, in India, especially in some States, there is often lack of clarity regarding land, this confuses foreign investors,” the spokesperson said.
Indian entry
Post the deal, Hindustan Power will retain almost half of its installed solar capacity, totalling less than 300 MW, while its under-construction capacity is around 150-200 MW, the spokesperson added.
As one of the few Indian MNCs in the renewable energy space, Hindustan Power is now focussing on increasing its presence in the international market targeting 2 GW of operational capacity globally by 2022.
For MAIF, the deal with Hindustan Power marks its entry into India’s renewable space.
The fund has invested up to ₹580 crore in Hindustan Power’s 1,200 MW thermal plant in Madhya Pradesh through the Macquarie-SBI Infrastructure Fund (MSIF), set up in 2009 with the country’s top lender.
Macquarie refused to comment on the deal.
Australian investments
Australian businesses have been actively exploring investment opportunities in India’s infrastructure sector in the recent past.
Grayson Perry, Australia’s Trade Commissioner in India, had earlier told BusinessLine that Australian investors are focussing on non-traditional segments such as smart-city infrastructure solutions, transportation, telecom and green energy.
Last year, Australia’s $130-billion Future Fund, a sovereign wealth fund, was invited by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to invest in the country’s infrastructure space. However, no investments have been announced by the Fund in India so far.
Source: thehindubusinessline
