Singapore's Asian Genco Raises $425 Million for Clean Energy Projects in India

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Clean energy developer Asian Genco Pte Limited (Singapore) recently announced that it has raised $425 million to set up clean energy projects in India. The financing deal, which was led by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) (New York, New York), also includes Norwest Venture Partners (Palo Alto, California), Goldman Sachs Investment Management (NYSE:GS) (New York, New York), General Atlantic (Greenwich, Connecticut) and Everstone Capital (Mumbai). Tiger Global Management (New York, New York) and PTC India Limited (BSE: 532524) (PTC) (New Delhi) are other partners in the project.

The $425 million financing is expected to help complete Asian Genco's ongoing projects. Asian Genco's current power portfolio consists of projects with a total generating capacity of 4,000 MW. The company requires an investment of about $4.5 billion to complete these projects. The projects are in the wind, thermal and hydro-electricity sectors. The global private equity funding, which includes a 44% stake in Asian Genco, is considered to be one of the biggest in India's power sector. The funding will be made through convertible instruments. The last big private equity deal in India was the $428 million investment made by Providence Equity Partners in Aditya Birla Telecom in 2008.

Asian Genco's financing deal comes at a time when power producers are seeking investments to participate in the India's growing energy sector. This industry is expected to witness huge investments and the addition of new generating capacity to meet economic development. India is among the top three developing economies in Asia.

Established in 2004, Asian Genco aims to increase its power production portfolio to 12,000 MW by 2012. The company focuses on clean energy from renewable sources. Asian Genco also provides technical, engineering and project management services to power developers. Some of the projects under construction are:

• The 100-MW Malana-II hydro-electric project in Himachal Pradesh on Malana Nallah, which is a tributary of the Parbati River
• the 2,640-MW East Coast Energy thermal power plant in Andhra Pradesh
• the 1,200-MW Teesta-III hydropower plant in Sikkim on Teesta River

The Teesta-III project is considered to be one of the biggest private sector hydropower projects in the country. The Teesta-III project is a joint venture between the government of Sikkim and Asian Genco, with the latter holding a 50.1% stake in the project.

The East Coast Energy project is being jointly developed by Asian Genco, Athena Energy Ventures Limited (New Delhi) and Athena Infraprojects Pvt Limited (New Delhi). Athena Energy Ventures is a joint venture of PTC, Infrastructure Development Finance Company Limited (BSE:532659) (IDFC) (Chennai, Tamil Nadu) and Athena Infraprojects Private Limited.

The company is developing the Malana-II project in association with Larsen & Toubro Limited (BSE:500510) (L&T) (Mumbai) and Athena Infraprojects. The three projects are likely to be commissioned sometime between 2010 and 2013. Presently, the company is operating a 10.5-MW wind power project at Surajbari in Gujarat; a 17-MW, gas-based hydro-electric power project at Srivathsa in Andhra Pradesh; and a 16-MW, hydro-electric power project at Patikari in Himachal Pradesh.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. IIR's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.