Armstrong expects S-E Asian clean energy fund to attract US$1.2b

[LONDON] Armstrong Asset Management, a Singapore-based private-equity company, expects investments from its first Southeast Asian clean energy fund to total as much as US$1.2 billion.

The fund will focus on the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand where renewables policy support is "more advanced", Armstrong managing partner Andrew Affleck said. While chiefly interested in solar and mini-hydropower, it is looking at about 30 projects that also span wind and energy efficiency.

Armstrong is seeking to exploit the growing market for renewables in Southeast Asia as more countries cement targets for emission reductions and incentives for clean power output. Thailand in July started premium payments, or feed-in tariffs, for solar energy, a system already in place in Malaysia and the Philippines. In June, Indonesia opened a solar auction programme.