Stockholm (NordSIP) – As one of the largest economies and most populous countries in the world, asset managers see China as an unavoidable partner for commercial and sustainability efforts. As a result, the country often lies at the nexus of investors’ and corporates’ plans. Apple, one of the leaders of personal computing and telecommunication devices has long based critical parts of its supply chain in China, which necessitates investments in energy infrastructure.
Among other efforts, Apple and its suppliers partnered with London-based global asset manager Schroders in 2018 to launch a China clean energy strategy. Now, based on that experience, Schroders Capital’s Infrastructure team in Asia announced the first close of a China renewable energy strategy following a US$100 million anchor investment commitment from Apple. The actively-managed strategy targets renewable infrastructure investments in late-stage development and construction wind and solar assets across China, aiming to deliver attractive risk-adjusted financial returns and Green Energy Certificates (GECs) for clients.
“This second strategy continues to demonstrate the critical role our clients can play in supporting the energy transition and the growing importance of actively managed investment solutions in this space. Schroders Capital’s renewables team is one of the largest pureplay energy transition infrastructure managers globally, and our team in China has extensive experience of the market and policy environment. This second strategy continues to underline our commitment to Asia Pacific and working as a trusted partner on behalf of our clients. China is now the largest country in the world for installed renewable energy generating capacity. This will continue to create investment opportunities which help to accelerate our clients’ decarbonisation targets while delivering resilient cash flows,” Yuyu Peng, Head of China Renewable Infrastructure, Schroders Capital Infrastructure Asia, said on this occasion.
Apple’s anchor investment allows the strategy aims to add approximately an annual 550,000 megawatt-hours of new wind and solar energy generation to China’s electrical grid. This generation is expected to grow as additional clients invest in the strategy. In addition to contributing to a cleaner power grid in China, the strategy will help advance Apple’s ambition to achieve carbon neutrality across its entire carbon footprint by 2030, including its supply chain and product lifecycle.
