Armstrong reaches $164m final close on SE Asia cleantech fund
Armstrong Asset Management has reached a final close of $164 million on its Southeast Asia Clean Energy Fund. With additional commitments coming from French development finance institution (DFI) Proparco and Geneva-based Unigestion, the fund was able to surpass its initial target of $150 million.
The 10-year fund, which launched in May of last year, provides development capital to small-scale renewable energy and resource efficiency projects in Southeast Asia. Typical projects generate power of up to 10 megawatts from renewable energy resources, such as solar, hydro and wind.
A first close came in August 2012, with capital from European DFIs including GEEREF and DEG, and an Asian-based corporation. International Finance Corporation (IFC) came on board in May, committing $20 million. There are 10 investors in total from Europe, North America and Asia.
"Our investors appreciate the fund's geographic focus on Southeast Asia. The region has been under allocated in terms of clean energy private equity, but the success of the fundraising is also driven by the respective markets' evolving policy framework, obvious market demand and the growing pipeline of mature deal opportunities," said Andrew Affleck, Armstrong's managing partner.
The fund makes 10-15 investments of $5-25 million each - although this could increase with co-investment - and it has backed two projects so far.
In August, it announced a commitment of up to $30 million to Annex Power to finance the development of solar photovoltaic and biogas power projects in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Three months earlier, the fund said it would take a 60% interest in Symbior Elements to develop and operate a 30 MW portfolio of solar projects in Thailand.
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