GUELPH, Ontario, Nov. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar Inc.
(the "Company", or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of the
world's largest solar power companies, today announced completion
of its second green project bond placement with Goldman Sachs Japan
Co., Ltd. The JPY7.4 billion
($66.0 million) dual-tenor green
project bond was issued to finance Canadian Solar's 27.3 MWp
Tottori Solar Power Plant in Tottori Prefecture, Japan. The Tottori solar power plant achieved
commercial operations in August 2017,
and the electricity generated is currently being purchased by the
Chugoku Electric Power Company, Inc. under a 20-year feed-in-tariff
contract at the rate of JPY40.0
($0.36) per kWh.
The Tottori green project bond consists of a dual-tenor maturity
of 1.5 years and 18.3 years, representing the initial and extended
tenor respectively, within a single-tranche of the bond. This
dual-tenor structure makes full repayment of the bond flexible,
while enabling a potential sale of the solar power plant to
Canadian Solar Infrastructure Fund, recently listed on the Tokyo
Stock Exchange.
The Japan Credit Rating Agency, Ltd. ("JCR") assigned the
Tottori project an investment grade rating of "A", making it the
fourth project by Canadian Solar in Japan to receive such a rating and in line
with the highest ratings reported in the Japan PV sector.
Furthermore, the Japan Research Institution, Limited ("JRI")
independently certified the designation as a green bond, in
accordance with the Green Bond Principles (2016) published by the
International Capital Market Association ("ICMA"). The
asset-backed, non-recourse bond was issued at par and pays a fixed
coupon of 1.2725% per annum during the initial tenor and, if
extended at the option of Canadian Solar, 1.3113% per annum
thereafter. Goldman Sachs Japan Co., Ltd. acted as the bond
arranger and Hitachi Capital Trust Corp., was appointed as
trustee.
Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer of Canadian Solar Inc. commented, "We are very
proud to announce the issuance of a second dual-tenor green project
bond at a low coupon rate. This solidifies our position as the
leading international issuer of green project bonds in Japan. Investors recognize our strong record
of building high quality and bankable solar power projects. This
project will contribute to the growth of Canadian Solar
Infrastructure Fund as a leading renewable energy fund in
Japan. We will continue to look
for opportunities to promote renewable energy platform in this
market."
About Canadian Solar
Founded in 2001 in Canada,
Canadian Solar is one of the world's largest and foremost solar
power companies. As a leading manufacturer of solar photovoltaic
modules and provider of solar energy solutions, Canadian Solar also
has a geographically diversified pipeline of utility-scale power
projects in various stages of development. In the past 16 years,
Canadian Solar has successfully delivered over 24 GW of premium
quality modules to over 100 countries around the world.
Furthermore, Canadian Solar is one of the most bankable companies
in the solar industry, having been publicly listed on NASDAQ since
2006. For additional information about the company, follow Canadian
Solar on LinkedIn or
visit www.canadiansolar.com.
Safe Harbor/Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release regarding the Company's
expected future shipment volumes, gross margins, business prospects
and future results, are forward-looking statements that involve a
number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results
to differ materially. These statements are made under the "Safe
Harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking
statements by such terms as "believes," "expects," "anticipates,"
"intends," "estimates," the negative of these terms, or other
comparable terminology. Factors that could cause actual results to
differ include general business and economic conditions and the
state of the solar industry; governmental support for the
deployment of solar power; future available supplies of high-purity
silicon; demand for end-use products by consumers and inventory
levels of such products in the supply chain; changes in demand from
significant customers; changes in demand from major markets such as
Japan, the U.S., India and China; changes in customer order patterns;
changes in product mix; capacity utilization; level of competition;
pricing pressure and declines in average selling prices; delays in
new product introduction; delays in utility-scale project approval
process; delays in utility-scale project construction; cancelation
of utility-scale feed-in-tariff contracts in Japan; continued success in technological
innovations and delivery of products with the features customers
demand; shortage in supply of materials or capacity requirements;
availability of financing; exchange rate fluctuations; litigation
and other risks as described in the Company's SEC filings,
including its annual report on Form 20-F filed on April 27, 2017. Although the Company believes
that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements
are reasonable, it cannot guarantee future results, level of
activity, performance, or achievements. Investors should not place
undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. All information
provided in this press release is as of today's date, unless
otherwise stated, and Canadian Solar undertakes no duty to update
such information, except as required under applicable law.
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SOURCE Canadian Solar Inc.