The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed loan agreements for $80m worth loans with Kazakh largest power generation company Samruk-Energy to help increase its balance sheet flexibility, improve its operational efficiency, and identify a renewable energy pipeline.
The agreements under the Samruk-Energy Restructuring and Transformation Project were signed at a ceremony in Astana by Director Infrastructure Finance, South Asia, Central Asia, and West Asia at ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department Mr. Shantanu Chakraborty and Samruk-Energy’s Chief Executive Officer Mr. Bakitzhan Zhulamanov.
ADB private sector operations senior investment specialist Mohammed Azim Hashimi said: “Ensuring that Kazakhstan’s electricity generation sector is sustainable, competitive, and modern will improve the country’s growth and development prospects for years to come.
“ADB’s assistance through local currency financing to Samruk-Energy, which is ADB’s first nonsovereign transaction with a state-owned enterprise in Kazakhstan, is an important step toward achieving this goal.”
ADB Central and West Asia Department principal energy specialist Levan Mtchedlishvili said: “This assistance will help Samruk-Energy to restructure its balance sheet, reducing its foreign exchange exposure by converting dollar refinancing requirements into long-term tenge-denominated debt.
“This will enable the company to resume its efforts to improve operational efficiency and develop renewable energy sources including wind and solar.”
To help modernize Kazakhstan’s electricity sector where about 70% of installed capacity is considered technically obsolete, Samruk-Energy adopted in 2015 a 10-year long-term development strategy to expand operations, lift renewable energy sources from 100 megawatts (MW) to 850 MW by 2025, and double shareholder value.
However, falling global oil prices negatively affected the tenge, Kazakhstan’s currency, which affected Samruk-Energy’s plans due to the company’s foreign currency exposure.
Samruk-Energy, established in April 2007, is an important entity in Kazakhstan’s energy sector, with its generation assets classified by the government as power plants of national importance. As of 2016, total installed capacity of the company’s power plants was 6,804 MW, representing 31% of the country’s total installed capacity.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members—48 from the region. In 2017, ADB operations totaled $32.2 billion, including $11.9 billion in cofinancing.
Source: Company Press Release