IFC picks up 10% of Continuum's green bonds

Mumbai: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has picked up 10 per cent of the first green bond issuance worth $561 million by Continuum Wind Energy as the anchor investor.

The IFC has subscribed to 10 per cent or $56 million of Continuum Energy's first green bond sale closed earlier this month, the World Bank Group member said. Continuum was in the market to raise $560 million via a six-year green bond issue. Finally, it closed the issue raising $561 million at a price of 4.5 per cent over the US treasury.

The bond, which had an order book of $3.2 billion, was rated BB+ by Fitch and Ba2 by Moody's, and was listed on the Singapore Exchange on February 10. The dollar-bond offering was heavily oversubscribed to almost seven times and the proceeds will primarily be used to refinance existing debt. This investment will help Continuum maintain sustainable power generation and position it to deliver projects under development as the country emerges from the pandemic, said Isabel Chatterton, Regional Industry Director for Natural Resources and Infrastructure, Asia Pacific at IFC.

It will also help support India in its ambitions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, at a time when private capital is most needed to fund infrastructure projects and support a green, resilient economic recovery, she added. Continuum is one of the largest providers of renewable power to corporates in the commercial and industrial sectors, with roughly 2 GW of wind and solar projects across the country.

The company is majority-owned by the $4 billion global infrastructure fund managed by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners. IFC's investment continues a relationship that began in 2014, when IFC financed Continuum's development of a wind farm in Madhya Pradesh.