GUELPH, ON, Feb. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Canadian Solar
Inc. (the "Company", or "Canadian Solar") (NASDAQ: CSIQ), one of
the world's largest solar power companies, announced today the
successful close of the Japan Green Infrastructure Fund ("JGIF" or
the "Fund"). Canadian Solar will partner with Macquarie Advisory
& Capital Solutions ("Macquarie"), the advisory and capital
markets arm of the Macquarie Group (ASX: MQG). Macquarie is both
the financial advisor and a minority investor in the Fund.
JGIF's mission is to accelerate the development of new projects
in Japan with clear monetization
strategies, and expects to grant first offer rights to the Canadian
Solar Infrastructure Fund ("CSIF", TSE: 9284), a Japanese-listed
infrastructure fund holding operating solar assets managed by
Canadian Solar's asset management subsidiary.
The Fund marks Canadian Solar's first platform entry into the
private institutional capital pool. Together with Macquarie and
other cornerstone investors, the Fund has secured JPY22 billion (US$208
million) of committed capital that will be used to develop,
build and accumulate new solar projects in Japan. The Fund will further consider green
bond placements and project finance loans as it expands its asset
portfolio.
Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO
of Canadian Solar, commented, "We are pleased to partner with
Macquarie and other long-term investors to launch this new
development fund. JGIF's more dedicated capital pool will further
boost our competitiveness in developing clean, sustainable and
high-quality solar energy projects in Japan, leveraging our strong track record both
as one of the largest solar developers in the country and as the
sponsor of the Canadian Solar Infrastructure Fund. Meanwhile, we
expect to deliver attractive and stable returns to our long-term
capital partners, including insurance companies and asset managers,
who are searching for yield and looking to deploy capital to
advance the clean energy transition."
JGIF is managed as an approved 13X fund management company
regulated under the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Canadian Solar and Macquarie
will jointly serve as general partners of the Fund, with an
economic stake of 67 per cent and 33 per cent, respectively. The
Fund aims to catalyze large-scale investments within its six-year
fund term and will sell to managed funds or on the secondary market
to maximize value.
Dr. Qu added, "As previously communicated, we are in the process
of planning similar localized capital partnerships in other parts
of the world, including in Latin
America and Europe, which
will help us accelerate the expansion of our global project
development platform."
About Canadian Solar Inc.
Canadian Solar was founded in 2001 in Canada and is one of the world's largest solar
technology and renewable energy companies. It is a leading
manufacturer of solar photovoltaic modules, provider of solar
energy and battery storage solutions, and developer of
utility-scale solar power and battery storage projects with a
geographically diversified pipeline in various stages of
development. Over the past 19 years, Canadian Solar has
successfully delivered over 49 GW of premium-quality, solar
photovoltaic modules to customers in over 150 countries. Likewise,
since entering the project development business in 2010, Canadian
Solar has developed, built and connected over 5.6 GWp in over 20
countries across the world. Currently, the Company has over 500 MWp
of projects in operation, over 5 GWp of projects under construction
or in backlog (late-stage), and an additional 11 GWp of projects in
pipeline (mid- to early- stage). Canadian Solar is one of the most
bankable companies in the solar and renewable energy industry,
having been publicly listed on the NASDAQ since 2006. For
additional information about the Company, follow Canadian Solar
on LinkedIn or visit www.canadiansolar.com.
About Macquarie Group
Macquarie Group Limited (Macquarie) is a diversified financial
group providing clients with asset management and finance, banking,
advisory and risk and capital solutions across debt, equity and
commodities. Founded in 1969, Macquarie employs 15,849 people in 31
markets. At 31 March 2020, Macquarie
had assets under management of US$372.6
billion. For further information, visit
www.macquarie.com.
Safe Harbor/Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release 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; delays in
the completion of project sales; delays in the process of
qualifying to list the MSS subsidiary in the PRC; 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 28, 2020. 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.