Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) and its Singapore unit Maybank MEACP Pte Ltd have launched a US$500mil (RM1.6bil) clean energy private equity fund.
The Maybank MEACP Clean Energy Master Fund aims to invest in a diversified portfolio of clean energy projects in the Asia-Pacific region, focusing on China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
The 10-year fund will be jointly managed by Maybank Ventures (Maybank’s venture capital arm) and MEACP. It will focus on clean energy projects in sectors that include wind, solar, geothermal, small hydro, biomass, biofuels and energy efficiency.
Maybank Investment Bank chief executive officer Tengku Datuk Zafrul Tengku Aziz said the first investment deal was expected to be closed in July 2012. The fund will be offered globally mainly to institutional investors, with a minimum investment amount of US$10mil (RM31.6mil).
Maybank said it would invest US$50mil (RM157.8mil) in the fund, while institutions such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and International Finance Corp (IFC) would be the anchor investors. ADB will invest US$20mil (RM63.1mil) and IFC US$25mil (RM78.9mil) with a condition its investment being the lower of US$25mil or 20% of the total amount invested.
Zafrul told a press conference after the fund’s launch that he was optimistic on Maybank’s third-quarter performance. He added that he was unsure about the subsequent quarter and that a slowdown was likely as the market may be more unstable next year.
