TOKYO: The Joyo Bank Ltd (TYO:8333) will become the bureau of a regional infrastructure promotion council, set up by five Japanese financial institutions to spur renewable energy and infrastructure investments in the country.
Hyakujushi Bank Ltd, Juroku Bank Ltd, Nanto Bank Ltd and Yamaguchi Financial Group Inc are Joyo Bank’s partners in the scheme, the latter said in a press release last week.
As part of the council’s pilot green energy contribution, project developer Sparx Green Energy & Technology Co Ltd was awarded a syndicate loan for a 8.7-MW photovoltaic (PV) plant in Asou, Namegata city, Ibaraki prefecture. Via the project finance loan, some JPY 2 billion (USD 17m/EUR 15m) of the required JPY-3-billion financing will be secured for the facility by April 2016, Joyo Bank noted.
Apart from attracting new sector investors, the council also aims to spur the development of the Japanese economy by promoting the utilisation of local resources and developing new financing methods in order to create new job opportunities. It will ultimately aid information sharing to gather useful know-how in the field of infrastructure investment and especially in renewable energy.
