Energy Bangla

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Dhaka Thursday,  Mar 28, 2024

JERA invests USD 330 million to buy 22% stake in Summit

In a move to establish major energy infrastructure, including power generation projects in Bangladesh, Japan’s largest energy company JERA Co., Inc. (“JERA”), has acquired a 22% stake in Summit Power International Limited (“Summit”) for USD 330 million. Summit is the largest independent power producer (IPP) in fast growing Bangladesh. The investment has been finalized within only four months of signing the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between JERA and Summit in Tokyo, in presence of the Honourable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Honorable State Minister, Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Nasrul Hamid MP, Honorable State Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shahriar Alam MP, Honorable Principal Coordinator of SDG and Chairman of MIDI (Moheshkhali-Matarbari Integrated Infrastructure Development Initiative) Md. Abul Kalam Azad, HE Ambassador of Bangladesh to Japan Rabab Fatima and Chairman of the Summit Group Muhammed Aziz Khan.

As a shareholder of Summit, JERA will strive to increase the corporate value of Summit through the efficient construction and operation of its power generation facilities and contribute to the sustainable economic growth of Bangladesh. Summit’s Founder Chairman Muhammed Aziz Khan expressed his satisfaction with the investment stating, “Much needed technology and capital for Bangladesh’s fast growing power and energy market will be available from JERA with their vast knowledge and balance sheet. JERA by far could be our best partner. This partnership will support our investment program of USD 3 billion by 2022 in Bangladesh.”

Toshiro Kudama, CEO of JERA Asia said, “JERA is fully dedicated and committed to the future development and economic growth of Bangladesh through this precious partnership with Summit. We believe that Summit has unrivaled presence and capacity in the country. Thus, we will humbly and steadily provide our support to them in the future. We look forward to working together with Summit in supplying not only reliable electricity but also primary energy sources to the people of Bangladesh. Our mission is to provide comprehensive solutions with state-of-the-art technologies to meet the underlying challenges in the energy industry globally.” JERA aims for excellence in operations and to that end will support Summit with technical expertise and human resources.

IFC, IFC Emerging Asia Fund, and EMA Power, were shareholders of Summit since 2016 until now, and will exit through this transaction. However, IFC will continue to be a large lender to Summit.

Co-Head of the IFC Emerging Asia Fund, Andrew Yee, said, “It has been a privilege to be a board director of Summit for the last three years and I congratulate Summit on the enormous progress made in that time. Bangladesh has come a long way and it is a pleasure to see new investors recognizing the vast potential offered by this market. We wish Summit and JERA even greater success in the years to come.”

 

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