Korea Western Power, NH-Amundi invest in Swedish wind farm project

Korea Western Power and NH-Amundi Asset Management signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate in their co-investment in a 240-megawatt wind farm project in Sweden, according to NH-Amundi on Tuesday.

The infrastructure project to build 56 wind turbines in Ange Municipality in northern Sweden is poised to be completed by the end of 2020. The facility has signed a 29-year sales contract with an undisclosed regional electricity market, promising a long-term source of stable income, NH-Amundi said.

The memorandum was signed Friday at a ceremony attended by Korea Western Power Chief Executive Kim Byung-sook and NH-Amundi CEO Bae Young-hoon.

“In light of the growing market uncertainties, NH-Amundi will strive to increase our exposure to alternative assets to secure stable return on our investment,” Bae said in a statement.

“To keep pace with the global energy transition, (NH-Amundi) is exploring more deals to invest in new and renewable energy.”

NH-Amundi invested in an undisclosed stake in the asset through its infrastructure fund, its spokesperson said. In the meantime, Korean Western Power will act as a strategic investor of the deal, taking charge of the asset’s operation and management after the construction is complete. The state-run company looks to secure up to 8-gigawatt capacity in overseas power plants by 2030.

Since its inception in 2015, NH-Amundi’s alternative investment has grown by investing in midstream pipelines, new and renewable energy turbines and terminals. Its exposure to special assets reached 3.99 trillion won ($3.26 billion), the fifth-largest by volume among Korean asset managers, as of Friday.

NH-Amundi is a 70:30 joint venture of Seoul-based NH Financial Group and French investment firm Amundi. It was overseeing 45.4 trillion won in assets as of Friday.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)