Macquarie fund takes stake in China’s JinkoSolar

A Macquarie Group infrastructure fund has joined with two other investors to take a major stake in the project development business of leading Chinese solar module maker JinkoSolar.

The investment of a combined $US225 million for a 45 per cent stake in Jinko Power, will provide funds to boost project development, and as a precursor for a separate listing for the offshoot.

The investment will enable JinkoSolar to boost its project development pipeline from 600MW to moe than 800MW, and Jinko says it hopes to tap into Macquarie’s network to access new projects.

“We expect MGCIF (Macquarie Greater China Infrastructure Fund) to help us further tap into the global solar power market through the Macquarie Group’s global resources and network,” said Li Xiande, th chairman of JinkoSolar.

It is not the first investment by Macquarie into th solar business. Last year, Macquarie Capital, the corporate advisory and capital markets arm of Macquarie Group, hformed a joint venture with Maeda Corporation to invest in large scale renewable energy projects in the latter’s home country of Japan.

Solar has been on Macquarie Group’s radar for a while now, with its European analysts in 2013 year describing the rapid deployment of low-cost PV as an unstoppable force, with or without subsidies. It has since established a solar leasing business in Australia and obtained a retail licence for the electricity market.

The joint investors with MGCIF in the Jinko transaction are the China Development Bank International (CDBI), and New Horizon Capital, a private equity fund that was established by the son of former premier Wen Jibao.

Together, the companies will take a 45 per cent stake in Jinko Power, whose projects include a $US260 million, 200MW PV project in China’s Jiangxi province.