Looking to raise $750mn for our hydro operating assets, says JSW Energy's Prashant Jain

“We are now looking to raise close to $750 million for our hydro operating assets,” he said in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

“It is the first time globally a hydropower plant is going to raise green bond anywhere in the world. So it is a unique project in itself. At this point of time, we are in process of securing ratings and doing other stuff and we will be hitting the market maybe some time next month or a month after,” he said.

The company’s gross debt is around Rs 7,800 crore and close to Rs 6,600 crore is the net debt on the balance sheet, he shared.

“The proceeds will be used to refinance the existing debt on the balance sheet,” he stated.

“Our net debt will be going up because of the projects on the ground, so going forward, our balance sheet will start levering up,” he said.

In terms of demand, Jain said, “The number of March demand was 20 percent. If I exclude the lockdown period, up to March 23, on a year-on-year (YoY) basis, demand went up by more than 16.2 percent. We are seeing that in the merchant tariff also.”

60 percent of the company’s portfolio will be coming in from the renewables segment, he pointed out.