New Delhi, April 23 -- British International Investment (BII), the UK government's development finance arm, has launched a new initiative, British Climate Partners (BCP), to infuse private capital for supporting energy transition in fast-growing Asian economies.
The impact investor said it will launch a new vehicle to invest £1.1 billion ($1.48 billion) in clean energy projects across India and Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, among others, as these countries reduce their dependence on coal.
"BCP has been specifically designed to channel growing institutional investor interest in the opportunities afforded by the energy transition," said Leslie Maasdorp, chief executive of BII.
The launch comes as BII aims to drive £15 billion of new capital into developing countries as part of its new five-year strategy. Of this, BII will contribute up to £8 billion, with the balance coming from private institutions. The initiative aims to mobilize £6-7.5 billion of private capital alongside BII's own investments through a combination of equity and mezzanine financing, it said.
BII said the platform will direct private investment into projects that align with commercial investor mandates and support the transition to net zero in countries with rapidly growing energy needs.
"Asia's energy transition will depend on mobilizing private capital at scale and British Climate Partners is designed to do exactly that," said Srini Nagarajan, managing director and head of Asia at BII. "Through this new initiative, we'll use our experience, capital and partnerships to build platforms, derisk projects and crowd in long-term investment into commercially viable climate opportunities across the region."
The initiative is part of BII's broader commitment to allocate 40% of its new investments to climate finance.
BII, formerly known as CDC Group Plc, has been investing in India for over four decades. It invests in public and private equities, debt, and private equity/venture capital funds as a limited partner (LP), allocating about 27% of its portfolio to India.
It has made both direct and indirect investments in India, backing companies such as clean transport player GreenCell Mobility, renewable energy company ReNew's solar manufacturing arm, and Delhi-based non-banking lender Aye Finance, among others.
Its LP-style bets include funds such as Lok Capital IV, a $150-million-target fund with a focus on financial services and technology-enabled SMEs in agriculture, healthcare, and climate, Ankur Capital's third fund, Asha Ventures' GIFT City-based vehicle, and Asha Ventures GIFT Trust; among others.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from VC Circle.