India participated in the inaugural Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Clean Economy Investor Forum held in Singapore from 5th to 6th June 2024.
- The Indian delegation to the forum was led by Sunil Barthwal, Secretary (Commerce) of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry(MoCI).
- A business delegation led by Invest India also participated in the Forum.
About IPEF:
i.IPEF was launched on 23rd May 2022 in Tokyo, Japan by the United States of America(USA) with Partners across the Indo-Pacific region.
ii.Currently, it has 14 partners: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, USA and Viet Nam.
iii.This aims to strengthen the partnership with the allies and partners and tackle the 21st-century economic challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.
About IPEF Clean Economy Investor Forum:
The IPEF Clean Economy Investor Forum is a key initiative under the IPEF Clean Economy Agreement to catalyse investment for sustainable infrastructure and climate technology across IPEF partners.
Key Highlights
i.This first-of-its-kind Forum identified a total of 69 sustainable infrastructure projects amounting to over USD 23 billion of investment opportunities.
- Of these, 20 investment-ready projects worth about USD 6 billion were presented to investors at business matching sessions. The remaining projects worth USD 17 billion were identified as potential investment opportunities in future.
ii.The Members of IPEF have over USD 25 billion in capital that can be deployed in Indo-Pacific emerging market infrastructure investments in the coming years.
iii.The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC)’s Board has approved an equity investment as part of the USD 900 million Eversource Climate Investment Partners II fund.
- This will provide capital, management, and expertise to innovative companies using new and existing capabilities to address climate change in India and Southeast Asia.
Points to note:
i.Sunil Barthwal underscored that India will offer investment opportunities of over USD 500 billion, specifically in the clean energy value chain which includes renewables, green hydrogen and Electric Vehicle (EV) and its infrastructure transition, by 2030.
ii.He highlighted that the Government of India (GoI) had initiated various key reforms around ease of doing business in India to improve the business ecosystem over the last 10 years.
IPEF Catalytic Capital Fund:
i.During the inaugural IPEF Investor Forum, the IPEF partners and the Private Infrastructure Development Group announced the operational launch of the IPEF Catalytic Capital Fund.
ii.The fund would deploy concessional financing, technical assistance, and capacity-building support to promote quality, resilient, and inclusive clean economy infrastructure projects in emerging and upper-middle-income economies.
iii.The founding supporters of the fund, Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the USA, will provide USD 33 million in initial grant funding to boost up to USD 3.3 billion in private investment.
iv.The group of investors, including Singapore-based Temasek and GIC, have pledged to invest USD 25 billion in infrastructure investments in emerging markets that are part of an economic alliance between the USA and various Asia-Pacific countries.
Sembcorp to Export Ammonia from a plant in India to Japan
During the forum, Sembcorp Green Hydrogen Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sembcorp Industries (Singapore), signed a Heads of Term (HoT) agreement with Sojitz Corporation and Kyushu Electric Power Co Inc. of Japan.
- Sembcorp will export the green ammonia from a 200,000 metric tonne per annum plant, which will be built by Sembcorp in India.
- According to the agreement, 200 Kilo Tons Per Annum (KTPA) green ammonia will be produced in Phase-I ( total 800 KTPA in 4 phases) at the Tuticorin plant in Tamil Nadu, India, built by Sembcorp Industries and will be exported to Japan.
- This project unites Japan, Singapore and India in a cross-border collaboration to accelerate the development of a low-carbon supply chain and advance the region’s transition to a clean economy.
Key People: The agreement was signed in the presence of Ken Saito, Minister for Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan, Dr. Tan See Leng, Second Minister for Trade and Industry, Singapore and Sunil Barthwal(India)
10 Indian companies among the Top 100 Climate Tech Startups Selected by IPEF
10 Indian Startups and Companies were selected in the Climate Tech Track to pitch their innovative ideas, technologies and solutions that contribute to mitigating or adapting to climate change.
- 4 Indian companies were selected in the sustainable infrastructure track to pitch their concepts on energy transition, transport and logistics, and waste management/waste to energy to global investors.
Points to note:
i.The 10 companies selected under Climate Tech track are BluSmart, Recykal, LOHUM, Sea6 Energy, EVage Ventures Private Limited, Kabira Mobility Private Limited, Batx Energies Private Limited, Newtrace and Alt Mobility, igrenEnergi, Inc.
ii.The 4 companies selected under the infrastructure track are ReNew Power, Avaada Energy Pvt. Ltd, Indusbridge Capital Advisors LLP. Founder, SEIP, and Powerica Limited.
Note: The Forum witnessed the participation of more than 300 participants from financial institutions, multilateral development banks, venture capital funds, and government agencies from IPEF partners who actively participated under the Sustainable Infrastructure track and Climate Tech track.
- More than 25 Indian companies pitched Indian projects to over 100 global investors at the forum.
About the Republic of Singapore:
Prime Minister (PM)- Lawrence Wong
Capital- Singapore City
Currency- Singapore Dollar (SGD)
