Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance advises Blackrock's Climate Finance Partnership on its investment in Ditrolic Energy to develop solar assets in Malaysia, Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines

Global law firm Clifford Chance has advised BlackRock's Climate Finance Partnership on its investment in Ditrolic Energy Holdings Sdn Bhd (Ditrolic Energy), one of the largest renewable energy developers in Malaysia and South East Asia.

The investment will support Ditrolic Energy's plans to reach its targeted 1GW+ pipeline of solar projects through the expansion of its portfolio of commercial and industrial (C&I) and utility-scale solar assets in Malaysia, Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines. The portfolio is expected to eliminate an estimated 2.7 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, while improving access to electricity for approximately 52,000 consumers and providing around 3,500 jobs. The development of these solar assets is expected to contribute to these countries' energy resilience and transition.

Lead partner Nadia Kalic said, "We are delighted to have supported BlackRock's Climate Finance Partnership on this transaction. It highlights the pivotal role of blended finance in mobilising capital to accelerate the development of climate-related infrastructure where it is most needed: in fast growing energy markets that are also some of the most susceptible to the effects of climate change."

Nadia was supported by a team in Shanghai, Singapore and Sydney, including partner Tom Lin, senior associates Emily Yung, Victor Leung and Echo Yang, associates Lisa Jiang, William Lucas and Christie Long and trainees Henry Garing, Chantelle Masters and Ella Keating. Partner Chad Bochan, counsel Jervis Chan and associate Brian Wang advised on the finance aspects of the transaction and Kadir Andri & Partners, DFDL, Fikry Gunawan and PJS Law advised on local law in Malaysia, Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines respectively.

The Climate Finance Partnership is a flagship public-private finance vehicle managed by BlackRock seeking to accelerate the flow of capital into climate-related investments in emerging markets. It is formed by a global consortium of investors including institutional investors, the governments of France (AfD), Germany (KFW) and Japan (JBIC) and leading impact US organisations.

Ditrolic Energy runs a fully-integrated value chain from project development, financing, EPC through to O&M and asset management. To date Ditrolic Energy is operating and constructing more than 450MW of solar assets in Malaysia, other Southeast Asia countries, Bangladesh and China.

Clifford Chance regularly advises on highly complex climate-related transactions in Asia Pacific, having advised AGP on Stonepeak's investment in its sustainable real assets portfolio, ACEN on its partnership with BrightNight for the development of renewable energy projects in India and Barito Renewables on its acquisition of five wind farm assets in Indonesia.