State-owned power sector companies will raise over $1 billion in debt from the UK market for a “rapid expansion of energy projects” this financial year, power minister Piyush Goyal said after the first India-UK energy dialogue.
At a joint briefing with Greg Clark, the UK’s secretary of state for business, energy and industrial strategy, Goyal said the two nations had agreed to boost ties on a reciprocal basis. India’s Energy Efficiency Services Ltd has already opened offices in the UK and has invested £7 million in energy-saving projects there.
Clark described the dialogue as a “tremendous success”.
He promised the UK’s participation in India’s rapidly changing energy sector through sharing of technical expertise and financial help.
Goyal said Rural Electrification Corp., Power Finance Corp., Energy Efficiency Services Ltd, Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency and NTPC Ltd are among those contemplating raising funds from the London financial services market. “We have large plans to scale up our engagement with the UK,” he added.
London is a preferred market for Indian firms to mobilize capital due to its strong financial services industry.
Many global development finance agencies, sovereign wealth funds and pension funds have plans to make long-term investments in energy assets in India that give steady returns.
An official statement from the power ministry said the joint £240 million energy sector fund announced on Tuesday has the potential to unlock much more than the original corpus planned.
The fund was announced after the ninth UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue between chancellor of the exchequer Philip Hammond and finance minister Arun Jaitley.
Source:livemint
