A new sustainable infrastructure debt financing vehicle, backed by HSBC and Temasek, has launched with ambitions to make $1 billion of loans to projects that aren’t being banked.
Pentagreen Capital was formally launched on August 31, almost a year after being announced. It will focus on southeast Asia initially, in the clean transport, renewable energy, energy storage, water and waste management sectors.
The announcement included the appointment of Marat Zapparov as chief executive of Pentagreen Capital. He has worked with the IFC, with HSBC and with Clifford Capital – which is, along with the Asian Development Bank, a strategic partner – and starts his leadership with $150 million of equity firepower from the two founding partners.
“I believe this new entity is what’s needed in the market,” Zapparov tells Euromoney. “It is a necessary tool.
“There is market demand for new structures, for new types of debt finance, and for more flexibility around the capital that can be deployed, particularly in the marginally bankable situations.”
By this he means projects that are sound at their core but have some characteristics that stop them getting funded.
“Existing
