Bangkok--14 Sep--KBANK
To support Thai investment abroad, KASIKORNBANK (KBank) is issuing their first guarantee on international credit, granted to finance a Thai solar power project in Japan. KBank sees a promising outlook for clean energy business in Japan.
Mr. Pipit Aneaknithi, Executive Vice President, KBank, has said that that KBank is supporting a Thai business entering the Japanese energy sector via the issuance of an international bank guarantee and a standby L/C for Premier Solution Co., Ltd. – a Thai company that is developing solar power projects worldwide. This guarantee was granted toward a JPY1.5 billion loan extended by The Tokyo Star Bank,Limited to finance 10 solar power plants in Japan, with a combined capacity of 58 megawatts. The electricity thus produced will be sold to Japanese electric power companies under a 20-year power purchase contract.
The issuance of those financial facilities is KBank's first-ever service to a Thai investor in Japan, and it is expected that such facilities will be increasingly used to enhance further international investments by Thai businesses. KBank's role as a loan guarantor will cushion financial risk, boosting the confidence of trade partners and/or contracting parties, while also facilitating loans from Japanese commercial banks.
Mr. Pipit added that Japan is now seeking to accelerate their renewable energy generation capability, targeting a 20 percent renewable energy share of total power output by 2020. As for current solar, biomass and geothermal energy produced there, they currently represent only 1 percent of Japan's total electric power generation, so their government has adopted one of the highest feed-in tariffs in the world to encourage more renewable energy investment. This direction will pave the way for Thai investors – who have become skilled in solar power management – to explore further opportunities in this sector there.