Singapore-based power producer Sembcorp Industries Ltd is preparing to list its Indian unit.
The IPO for Sembcorp India, which has thermal and renewable power assets in the country, is being planned at a time when India’s green energy tariffs have hit a record low. In such a scenario, obtaining finance at the lowest cost has become a key to success.
Sembcorp India has contributed to these aggressive bets, with its Sembcorp Green Infra (SGI) unit bidding a then-record low Rs3.46 per kWh wind power tariff in February to win contracts for 250 megawatt (MW). It was also in the fray for 750MW of solar capacity on offer at Rewa in Madhya Pradesh.
The Singapore-based company in 2010 made its first power sector investment in India when it acquired a stake in Gayatri Energy Ventures’s Thermal Powertech Corp. India, a thermal power plant.
SGI has close to 1,200MW of wind and solar power capacity in operation and under development.
In February 2015, Sembcorp Industries acquired a 60% stake in IDFC Alternatives Ltd-backed renewable energy firm Green Infra Ltd for 227 million Singapore dollars.
In August, Sembcorp Industries announced the acquisition of IDFC’s remaining 28 percent stake in SGI for Rs1,410.2 crore (around S$301 million) to become its sole owner.
The investors’ interest also comes against the backdrop of India’s newly appointed power and new and renewable energy minister Raj Kumar Singh announcing last month that he has instructed that 20,000MW each of wind and solar power contracts be auctioned by December.
By Baishakhi Dutta
