Gagasan Solar aims to raise RM200mil to make solar energy accessible to SMEs
22 Mar 2022
Gagasan Solar, the first Securities Commission Malaysia (SC)-regulated solar fund, will be raising a total of RM200 million to ensure greater
accessibility for small and medium enterprises (SME) to solar energy.
The solar energy investment firm aims to raise an initial RM50 million in equity through multiple rounds of funding, then leverage the amount by up to RM150 million.
Gagasan Solar managing partner Joshep Lee said solar energy presents a large, unique and immediate opportunity to achieve a win-win-win scenario for investors, the business community and the environment.
He said solar energy offers attractive risk-adjusted yields for the investment community, as it is defensive and recession-resistant.
For the business community, solar energy presents the opportunity to lower overall electricity expenses, which can otherwise be allocated to more capital efficient avenues, Joshep said.
“From an environmental perspective, solar energy offers an immediate and direct positive impact by lowering carbon emissions.
“We are thrilled to be entering the solar investment sector during this time of great change. However, technological advancement and innovation wait for no one, and Malaysia must accelerate its efforts to expand the adoption of solar energy to become accessible nationwide,” he said in a statement today.
Gagasan Solar was founded to bridge the gap in Malaysia’s solar energy industry and backed by a management team with a strong background in finance and the solar energy industry.
To ensure efficient risk management and act as an additional layer of oversight, a registered private equity management corporation, Thinkat PE, formerly known as Senturia Capital Sdn Bhd, has been appointed to manage the funds raised through Gagasan Solar.
Thinkat PE is one of only seventeen SC-registered private equity management corporations (PEMC) in Malaysia.
Gagasan Solar’s foray into solar investment comes at an opportune time, with solar energy investment and consumption gaining more traction in the last few years.
Seeing the many benefits of renewable energy, the government has goals in the pipeline to increase renewable energy installation capacity to 31 per cent by 2025 and 40 per cent by 2035 under its power generation plan.
Moreover, based on a study conducted by Gagasan Solar, the revenue potential of the Malaysian market for commercial and industrial solar energy stands at RM25 billion per year, indicating a large opportunity for further growth in solar energy from both consumption and investment standpoints.
With this in mind, Gagasan Solar is actively seeking sophisticated investors and high-net-worth individuals (HNWI) to join it to make solar energy more accessible to SMEs.
As the first solar-only fund in Malaysia, Gagasan Solar is focused primarily on solar investing, resulting in much faster
investment decision making, benefiting our solar construction partners, clients and capital partners.
“We’re raising funds to capitalise on this blue ocean opportunity and accelerate the adoption of solar energy.
“With this acceleration, we hope to create a win-win-win situation for our capital
partners, the environment and companies that will eventually experience reduced utility bills, thus resulting in resource conservation in the long run,” Joshep said.
Source: NST
