Nomura invests US$25m in Singapore waste management firm Blue Planet

WASTE management firm Blue Planet Environmental Solutions has raised US$25 million from Japanese brokerage and investment bank Nomura, the company said on Tuesday.

Singapore-headquartered Blue Planet will use the funds to expand its products and services in Asia.

Founded in June 2017, the company provides services for the collection, transportation, segregation, processing and treatment of waste.

It is able to, directly or indirectly, meet 15 of the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and engages with governments and companies in Asia to help them "realise the benefits of sustainable waste management", Blue Planet said.

In the past 17 months, Blue Planet has acquired various waste management-related companies including Rudra Environmental Solutions in India, Globecycle Holding in Malaysia and Smart Creative Technologies in the UK.

Besides Singapore, the company has offices in India, Vietnam, Malaysia and the UK.

Nomura said environmental, social and governance opportunities have been a key focus area for the bank.

Other key investors of Blue Planet include the Neev Fund, an infrastructure-focused private equity fund that was created as a partnership between the State Bank of India and the UK government's Department for International Development.

The fund looks to achieve long-standing capital appreciation by promoting sustainable models of development to focus on low income states in India, said Blue Planet.