Japanese banks to raise $270m for overseas offshore wind fund

The fund will buy Sumitomo’s UK assets as seed assets.

Sumitomo Corporation, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and the Development Bank of Japan Inc. have established their first fund through their joint fund manager Spring Infrastructure Capital Co., an announcement revealed.

The fund will raise money from Japanese investors and finances and invests in offshore wind power projects overseas, Sumitomo highlighted, adding that the fund will also acquire UK assets held by Sumitomo Corporation as seed assets. These in turn will reportedly be the first fund in Japan designed to invest in offshore wind power projects overseas.

According to Sumitomo, the fund will seek to raise an estimated $270m (JPY30b).

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Spring Infrastructure Capital Co. was founded in July 2018 in an effort to provide institutional investors with opportunities to invest in renewable energy assets both inside and outside Japan, the announcement added.

Sumitomo Corporation holds a 51% stake in the firm, whilst Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and the Development Bank of Japan, Inc. hold 24.5% each.

“The aim is to meet investors’ expectations by dispatching members experienced and knowledgeable in investment/financing in the renewable energy sector to the company, where they will participate in running the infrastructure projects in which the fund invests and thereby provides value to local communities,” Sumitomo Corporation said in a statement.