AFRICA: SBICAP executes power project mandate in Africa

SBI Capital Markets Limited (SBICAP), on Monday said that it has been appointed as the financial advisor by Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) for setting up coal-based power generation plants there.

SBICAP is the investment banking arm of State Bank of India and this is its first mandate in Africa in the power sector.

The plants, each of 600 MW, are coal-based and will be set up in two phases with the cost of Phase-1 pegged at $1 billion.

"The project is proposed to be executed via the SPV route with a debt-equity ratio of 80:20. Phase I of the project is expected to be commissioned by 2010," SBICAP's Vice-President, Project Advisory & Structured Finance, Rajat Mishra, told the agency.

SBICAP will be advising BPC on project structuring, financial advisory and all project contracts besides assisting in the syndication of debt, Mishra said.

The company is active in debt syndication in power in the Middle-East and has successfully concluded deals in Oman and Qatar, he said.

Presently, it was in negotiations to bag the mandate for a power project in Sri Lanka. "It is again a coal-based power project of 30 MW. We are presently in negotiations and hence I can't give you further details," Mishra said.

The company has emerged as the number one player in debt syndication in the Asia-Pacific region and number nine globally in 2006.

"We have emerged as big players with tremendous expertise in sectors like power, roads and ports," he said, adding that "SBICAP has successfully concluded $200-million power project deal in Oman."

SBICAP has also won the mandate for Tata Power's 4,000 MW ultra mega power project in Mundra. In roads, SBICAP has done 20 deals involving big names such as L&T, Gammon and Hindustan Construction, amongst others.

In ports, SBICAP is advising the first private sector greenfield project, the Gangavaram port, set up as a SPV near Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. "We have handled the entire debt here for nearly Rs 1,500 crore," Mishra said.