JSW Hydro Energy raises $ 707 million via green bonds overseas

JSW Energy on Tuesday said that its arm JSW Hydro Energy has raised USD 707 million through green bonds abroad.

"JSW Hydro Energy raises USD 707 million from international bond markets through debut Green Bond Issue under 144A / Reg S format," a JSW Energy statement said.

According to statement, JSW Hydro Energy has priced the fixed rate senior secured green 144A/Reg S Bond for a 10-year tenor at 4.125 per cent.

The proceeds from the issuance will be used towards repayment of existing green project-related rupee-denominated indebtedness, it said.

The green bond framework for the company's debut bond transaction has been reviewed by Sustainalytics, who has issued a second party opinion.

The company engaged with several investors on a global deal roadshow across Hong Kong, Singapore, London, New York and Los Angeles.

Backed by an extremely strong investor feedback, the transaction was launched with an initial price guidance of 4.500 per cent area and tightened by 37.5 bps (basis points) to 4.125 per cent as final pricing.

The final order book was in excess of USD 2.6 billion with oversubscription of more than 3.7x. The transaction witnessed 64 per cent participation from Asia, 14 per cent from the US and 22 per cent from EMEA with 82 per cent investment from long haul funds, 17 per cent from financial institutions (including Sovereign Wealth Funds), and 1 per cent from private banks, it said.

There was strong demand from some of the largest marquee fixed income investors globally, it added.

Prashant Jain, Chairman of JSW Hydro, and Joint Managing Director and CEO of JSW Energy said, We are overwhelmed by the strong response from international bond investors in our debut issuance."

Jain further said, this fundraise will enable the company to further strengthen and diversify our sources of funding and we look forward to strengthening our partnership with global investors as we continue to build and grow our renewable energy business.

From a total installed capacity of about 4.6 GW today, where about 30 per cent is from renewable sources, we currently have visibility on a pipeline of about 2.6 GW of renewable projects comprising of wind, solar and hydro which are likely to get commissioned over the next 24 30 months. On completion of these projects, the share of renewables in our portfolio will be over 55 per cent, he said.

JSW Hydro Energy has an installed generation capacity of 1,391 MW. The group as a whole has 4,559 MW capacity, of which 3,158 MW are thermal power and 10 MW are solar power.