Business News

London: One of India's leading manufacturing multinationals, Bharat Forge, on Tuesday called for a more innovative approach to electric vehicles (EVs) in the country's climate action agenda which is not based on copying China's battery-based model. Addressing India Global Forum's Climate and Business (ClimB) session in London, company vice-chair and joint managing director Amit Kalyani pointed to great potential to incorporate inductive electric charging as the highway infrastructure takes shape around the country. He highlighted that the higher price tag of EVs is largely down to the cost of the batteries and having an alternative model will have a significant impact on sales of the more environmentally-friendly mode of transport. "I believe that we are all following the wrong model because everybody is copying what China did and is using the Chinese template for electric vehicles, which is a battery-based electric model," said Kalyani. "Most countries like India, where we are building infrastructure from scratch, not just EV infrastructure but highways... we can incorporate inductive electric charging in those and dramatically reduce the amount of battery we use to one-tenth or one-fifth of what you would otherwise need and only use it when the EV is off the main highways. This will dramatically reduce the need for the harmful chemicals and the mining of those chemicals, which is largely in Africa, and all controlled by Chinese companies," he said. EVs were among several topics in the spotlight for ClimB, an annual platform for advancing climate solutions and sustainability initiatives around clean energy, finance, green infrastructure, mobility and technology to accelerate global efforts towards achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. "India has significant financing needs. Just 2.5 per cent of GDP in green financing until 2030, and then it moves into trillions for the energy transition as we get towards the target of net zero," noted Julia Hoggett, CEO of the London Stock Exchange (LSE), who called for greater focus on creating mechanisms by which companies in the Global South can invest in such projects. "We need a global financial architecture... There's a lot to be done in terms of making our financial system work for the energy transition in places where affordability is a real issue," said Kate Hampton, CEO of Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF). The debate also revolved around the role that green hydrogen would play on the course of energy transition away from fossil fuels. "Everything we can electrify, we should electrify because we found a way to decarbonise the grid already through renewables. While hydrogen is important, electrifying what we can is the most important thing and everything that we have electrified moving to renewables is equally important," said Rahul Munjal, Chairman and Managing Director, Hero Future Energies. "Is green hydrogen the silver bullet that we have all been looking for and does it have the promise that it's all hyped up to be? At least in smaller projects it's here and now, large scale not yet," he added. The session was followed by IGF London's first Global Investors Forum, celebrated with a market close ceremony at the London Stock Exchange - celebrating its role in facilitating capital flows into the world's fastest-growing major economy. Darko Hajdukovic, Head of New and Private Markets and Deputy Head of Digital and Securities Markets at LSE plc, noted: "Over the past 30 years, approximately 100 Indian companies and funds have financed their ambitious plans through our markets, and we look forward to continuing to support India in its growth." "London's unparalleled financial expertise and robust capital markets can significantly contribute to India's ambitious growth trajectory, creating pathways for substantial investments in infrastructure, innovation, and sustainable development," added IGF Founder Manoj Ladwa.

WASHINGTON: U.S. consumer confidence eased slightly in June amid worries about the economic outlook, but households were upbeat about the labor market and their inflation expectations over the next year improved a bit, a survey showed on Tuesday. The Conference Board said that its consumer confidence index eased to 100.4 this month from a downwardly revised 101.3 in May. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index slipping to 100.0 from the previously reported 102.0. "Confidence pulled back in June but remained within the same narrow range that's held throughout the past two years, as strength in current labor market views continued to outweigh concerns about the future," said Dana Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board. "However, if material weaknesses in the labor market appear, confidence could weaken as the year progresses." Consumers' 12-month inflation expectations fell to 5.3% from 5.4% in May.

Global development institution International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has invested over Rs 650 crore in K Raheja Corp-backed Mindspace Business Parks REIT through an issue of sustainability-linked bonds.This is a maiden sustainability-linked fundraising by any listed Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) in India. This follows the REIT’s issuance of Green-bonds last year.Green bond loans are funds raised to finance construction of environment-friendly properties, while sustainability bonds are linked to achievement of sustainability targets.“IFC's investment will help Mindspace enhance the sustainability of its portfolio of business parks and reduce greenhouse gas emissions year-on-year. This partnership aligns with India's net-zero ambitions and demonstrates the viability of climate finance in the real estate sector. Our support aims to attract more diverse and long-term funding at a time when private capital is critical to build a greener, more resilient future,” said Wendy Werner, IFC Country Head for India.The coupon of this sustainability-linked bond is connected to Mindspace Business Park REIT’s commitment to achieve certain ESG targets towards building a greener eco-system. The proceeds of this fund raising are proposed to be utilised for refinancing amongst other uses.“This follows our maiden green bond issue in March 2023. Post this issuance our cumulative green/sustainability linked financing now stands at Rs 1,860 crore, strengthening our commitment to responsible growth. Our purpose to 'build sustainable ecosystems' helps us create long-term value for stakeholders, blending financial success with the environmental and social benefits,” said Ramesh Nair, CEO, Mindspace Business Parks REIT.Mindspace REIT has undertaken certain ESG targets critical to its operations. These include reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the share of green certified area for existing buildings under operations and maintenance, and reduction in energy intensity. The coupon of these bonds is fixed in nature, and will be stepped down, in a staggered manner, basis achievement of the set targets.The tenure of these bonds is seven years with final redemption date of June 24, 2031, at a coupon of 7.94% per annum, payable quarterly. IFC has subscribed to 65,000 listed, rated, secured, redeemable, transferable, taxable, non-cumulative non-convertible debentures of Rs 1 lakh each aggregating to Rs 650 crore on a private placement basis. These bonds are proposed to be listed on the Wholesale Debt Market (WDM) segment of the Bombay Stock Exchange.Mindspace REIT has put into place its maiden sustainability-linked financing framework under which Mindspace REIT and/or its SPVs can undertake issuances of sustainability linked instruments. The framework is based on five key components including selection of key performance indicators, calibration of sustainability performance targets, sustainability-linked instrument characteristics, reporting, and verification.

Adani group is looking to invest about Rs 2 lakh crore by 2030 to build 40 gigawatts of renewable energy generation capacity, as it targets net zero emissions across businesses by 2050, top officials said on Tuesday. The apple-to-airport conglomerate currently has over 10 GW of capacity to generate electricity from renewable sources like sunlight and wind energy and is looking to add 6-7 GW every year to reach 50 GW by 2030. "Considering the ballpark number of Rs 5 crore per megawatt, the investment could be in the range of Rs 2 lakh crore by 2030," Adani Green Energy Ltd Executive Director Sagar Adani told reporters here. Its CEO Amit Singh said the company would also build a 5 GW pump storage capacity to peak power demand during the night when sunlight is not available, and wind intensity is not strong enough to turn wind turbines to produce electricity. The carbon credits renewable capacity generates, together with a few other measures, will help turn the group net zero by 2050.111239657AGEL added 2.8 GW capacity in the 2023-2024 (April 2023 to March 2024) fiscal, which was 15 per cent of India's total renewable energy capacity addition, Singh said. "This year, our target is 6 GW," he said. Going forward, that kind of capacity addition or higher is likely every year, Adani said, adding that 80 per cent of the 50 GW capacity will be solar and the rest wind. The conglomerate is building factories to make wafers used in solar panels to generate electricity and wind turbines. Singh said the group is now looking at making 3 MW wind turbines for areas with lower wind speeds. It currently makes wind turbines of 5.2 MW capacity that are suited for high-potential areas like Khavada in Gujarat. India is the world's third-largest economy in terms of energy needs, and its energy demand is projected to surge 25-35 per cent by 2030. Its peak energy demand is estimated to be 366.4 GW by 2031-32. AGEL brought on a stream of 2,848 MW (2.8 GW) renewables capacity, the largest greenfield expansion in India's renewable energy sector. This included 2,418 MW solar and 430 MW wind projects.111119307Of the capacity commissioned in FY24 includes 2,000 MW of solar capacity from Adani Green Energy's World's largest renewable energy project of 30,000 MW, being built at Khavda, Gujarat. The project is spread across 538 square kilometres, almost five times the city of Paris. Once built, it will be the largest power plant in the world, regardless of the energy source. AGEL is also targeting the addition of at least 5,000 MW pumped storage project (PSP) capacity by 2030 in the first phase, Singh said. It has begun the construction of the first 500 MW PSP in Andhra Pradesh. The company has a robust development pipeline of hydro-pumped storage projects across Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Telangana. With this, AGEL has revised its renewable energy target to 50,000 MW from 45,000 MW by 2030. AGEL's current operational portfolio is 10,934 MW, which consists of 7,393 MW solar, 1,401 MW wind and 2,140 MW wind-solar hybrid capacity. It is the first company in India to surpass the 10,000 MW renewable energy capacity.111130859Over the past five years, its operational capacity addition has outpaced the industry, achieving a CAGR of 41 per cent compared to India's 13 per cent. AGEL's total locked-in portfolio stands at 21,953 MW (10,934 MW is operational, and 11,019 MW is under execution). About 93 per cent of AGEL's portfolio comprising 20,368 MW is now backed by 25-year fixed tariff PPAs with sovereign/sovereign equivalent counterparties, which gives it revenue predictability, and 7 per cent is merchant portfolio, offering higher realisations.