Adani Transmission Ltd’s distribution arm Adani Electricity Mumbai Ltd (AEML) has raised $300 million in sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) as part of its $2 billion Global Medium-Term Notes programme (GMTN), the firm said on Friday. The order book for the $300 million takedowns was oversubscribed by 9.2x by global investors.
Of the total investors, 49% were from Asia, 27% from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and 24% from North America, it said.
“With this landmark transaction, AEML’s capital management plan enters the second phase with 100% of the term debt being placed in the international capital markets with the overall maturity now increased to approximately 9 years,” it said.
The order book for its bond offering was the largest order book oversubscription ever for a 10-year ESG bond issuance in Asia (excluding Japan) and this is the first SLB issuance from an Indian utility, it added.
“The key performance indicators chosen for the SLB framework contribute to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 7 (affordable clean energy), SDG 11 (sustainable cities and communities) and SDG 13 (climate change),” it said.
“The challenging short-term targets of increasing the renewable energy penetration in AEML’s power purchase mix from the current 3% to 30% by 2023 and 60% by 2027 are legally covenanted targets that are consistent with the COP26 (2021 UN climate change conference) targets,” said Kandarp Patel, managing director and chief executive, AEML.
“AEML has set for itself some of the nation’s most challenging renewable penetration targets in the short term, thereby showcasing our commitment towards net-zero emissions. We have also committed to the short-term target of reductions of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission intensity by 60% from FY19 levels to stay in line with COP26 targets. In addition to the legally covenanted targets, we have publicly announced a target of 70% renewable penetration by 2030,” he added.
