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MIGA has issued a guarantee of $98.3 million to Virtuo Finance S.a.r.l. (Virtuo), boosting the sustainable refinancing of six operational solar power plants in Egypt’s Benban Solar Park, the largest photovoltaic (PV) solar park in Africa.
The Power Plants will be refinanced through the issuance of a first-of-its-kind green bond by Virtuo. The refinancing will reduce financial costs, improve overall financial viability and generate cost savings to be shared with the Government of Egypt. Scope Ratings, a European credit rating agency, assigned the bond a rating of BBB+, a higher rating than Egypt’s sovereign debt rating.
The bond also benefits from certification by the Climate Bond Initiative and has been independently verified by DNV, a leading technical consultancy. Furthermore, the bond meets MIGA’s Performance Standards – an international benchmark for identifying and managing environmental and social risks.
“This groundbreaking climate-certified bond supported by MIGA and EBRD is catalysing opportunities for institutional investors in emerging markets and developing economies,” said Junaid Ahmad, MIGA Vice President for Operations. “The MIGA-EBRD partnership is an example of how multilateral financial institutions can work with client countries to deliver climate finance at scale.”
MIGA to refinance solar park to help Egypt meet climate, environmental and social standards
Operational since 2019 with an installed capacity of 380MW, the Power Plants are part of Egypt’s landmark Solar Feed-in-Tariff Program (FiT Program), which has mobilised private investments in the country to build one of the world’s largest PV generation parks. The Power Plants are contributing to meeting Egypt’s goal of generating 20% of national electricity needs from renewable sources by 2022.
This bond issuance was split into two tranches. The first, amounting to $250m, was distributed among the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and other Development Finance Institutions (DFIs). The second tranche of $84.5m was distributed to international private institutional investors.
The second tranche is enhanced by MIGA’s political risk insurance cover and a Liquidity Support Facility (LSF) provided by EBRD. Together, they provide credit enhancement for the project that is essential for attracting private capital investment – especially major institutional investors who are mobilising investment contributions for the first time in Egypt.
The MIGA-covered tranche is also reinforced by the Agency’s E&S Performance Standards, which will ensure that E&S risks and impacts are managed and development opportunities are strengthened through the life of the investment. Experience to date has shown that MIGA’s Performance Standards contribute to sustainable investment, add value to clients by helping them improve business performance and the standards are routinely met throughout the life of the project.
“MIGA is proud to back this innovative financing in support of renewable energy accompanied by our E&S standards. Meeting all three – climate, environmental and social – makes this a stand-out transaction in the sustainable investment market. This is an example of how climate and E&S performance standards, underpinned by MIGA’s due diligence and monitoring, can combine to redefine what it means for a bond to be truly sustainable,” said Ethiopis Tafara, MIGA Vice President and Chief Risk, Legal and Sustainability Officer and Partnerships.
MIGA’s nineteen-year guarantee will cover Virtuo against the risks of breach of contract, expropriation, war and civil disturbance, and currency transfer restriction.
Egypt will host the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 27) that will take place in Sharm El-Sheikh in November 2022, demonstrating its commitment to global efforts in this area. |
