RIYADH: France-based Natixis Corporate and Investment Banking has signed an agreement to finance ACWA Power projects over the next two years — with funding of up to $2 billion.
The memorandum of understanding will allow both parties to “explore opportunities to develop new projects in the region,” the Saudi clean energy provider said in a bourse filing.
Paddy Padmanthan, chief executive officer of ACWA Power, said the agreement will allow them to expand “cost competitive financing solution” and access wider pools of liquidity for its projects.
Natixis has previously underwritten some of the Saudi-listed firm’s high-profile renewable projects, including the Sakaka solar project.
Riyadh-based ACWA, which is 44 percent owned by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF, is the Kingdom’s most high-profile entity for building renewable energy and hydrogen projects.
The company is expected to deliver at least 70 percent of Saudi Arabia’s renewable schemes by 2030, and is forecast to take part in around $30 billion worth of green projects over the next 10 years, as the Kingdom’s strategy to diversify its economy away from fossil fuels gathers pace.
ACWA began trading on the Saudi stock market in October 2021 after selling an 11 percent stake. The move values the entire company at $10.9 billion.
ACWA also holds a one-third stake in the massive $5 billion NEOM project which will be powered entirely by solar and wind, and will be one of the world’s largest green hydrogen plants when it opens in 2025.
