SINGAPORE - Reed Smith is pleased to have represented InfraCo Asia Development Pte. Ltd. (a subsidiary of the Private Infrastructure Development Group), on its divestment from the Vietnamese Coc San Hydro Power Project. In the transaction, InfraCo Asia sold its 33.4% stake in the project’s operator, Viet Hydro Pte Ltd (the majority shareholder of Lao Cai Renewable Energy Joint Stock Company) to the Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO). The deal is TEPCO’s first investment in an overseas hydropower project.

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The $44.5 million Coc San hydro power project, which was successfully brought into operation in April 2016, delivers 29.7MW of clean, run-of-river hydro power to some 130,000 people in the Lao Cai Provence. It is the first foreign direct investment in hydro power in the mountainous northern province.

InfraCo Asia initially invested in the development and construction of the plant when it was a distressed asset. As the majority stakeholder, InfraCo Asia worked to ensure that the project met stringent World Bank environmental standards and was structured to attract further private sector capital. Coc San is also supported by a 20-year power purchase agreement with Northern Power Corporation, a power distributing subsidiary of Vietnam Electricity.

“InfraCo Asia invested in the project early on with the aims of creating strong development impact and serving as a catalyst for private sector investment, for both the Coc San project and Vietnam’s renewable energy sector,” said InfraCo Asia CEO, Allard.