6 November 2013, Singapore – Standard Chartered is pleased to announce that it has been nominated as the Sole Account Bank for CLP Wind Farm (India) Pvt. Ltd.’s (“CLPWF”) Pooled Projects. CLPWF’s current wind power projects are funded by multiple lenders, and each power project has a different Account Bank. Under this arrangement, Standard Chartered will effectively pool the cash flows from CLPWF’s current and future wind farm projects and offer:
- effective cash flow management though one bank
- efficient monitoring of financial covenants under the pooling structure
- potential for a higher credit rating for favorable funding opportunities
- real-time visibility of the various accounts
The pool will initially comprise of four operational projects – with an aggregated output of 267.5 MW – that is financed by different banks, including Standard Chartered.
Rajiv Mishra, Managing Director, CLP India said, “We are delighted with Standard Chartered’s support. In addition to offering expertise as a clean energy financier for our wind farms, they have implemented a unique pooling structure for consolidating our cash flows in a manner that diversifies risk while offering greater visibility and control. We look forward to continuing our strategic collaboration with Standard Chartered.”
Commenting on the mandate, Ravi Suri, Head of Project and Export Finance, India, Africa, MENA and Europe, Standard Chartered said, “We are pleased that the bespoke solution, a first of its kind in India’s renewable energy sector, was able to support our client’s growth agenda in India. We are committed to clean energy financing and are proud to have played a key role in financing over 500 MW of wind farms in India to date.The pooling of cash flows from different projects will be viewed very favourably not just by the existing lenders but by new lenders, domestic as well as international. The pooling would also confer on CLP Wind-farms Ltd, a quasi-corporate risk profile thereby giving it an access to diversified and cost competitive funding sources, in future.”
“This deal is an excellent demonstration of our client centric commitment,” added Dinesh Khanna, Regional Head of Transaction Banking, South Asia, Standard Chartered. “The effective management of cash flows is a common area of concern among our clients, and this structure is a great example of how we continuously build on our expertise and on-the-ground understanding of various markets to support our clients across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.”
