Yingli Energy (China), a subsidiary of Yingli Green Energy, has signed a cooperation agreement with Shanghai Sailing Capital Management to launch a CNY1bn renewable energy fund in Shanghai with an aim to invest in China's downstream solar energy projects.
Shanghai Sailing Capital Investment Fund is an affiliated entity of Sailing Capital International Fund (Sailing Capital).
Under the agreement, Yingli China commits to contribute approximately 51% of the total capital through its wholly owned affiliate in China.
Primarily, the fund will be used to invest in Yingli’s solar PV projects and both parties will take an active role in the fund’s management.
Further definitive agreements will be signed among the parties to formally define their partnership and specific investment opportunities.
Sailing Capital CEO James Xiaodong Liu said, "Renewable energy is emerging as a strategic industry in China and around the world, and the PV segment in particular has great prospects for future development."
"As China’s first large, cross-border RMB private equity fund, Sailing Capital is pleased to join a PV industry leader, Yingli Green Energy."
"The Fund, which will initially focus on ground-mounted solar power plant and distributed solar power generation system investments, marks the beginning of the two companies’ comprehensive cooperation through capital and industrial resource sharing," Xiaodong Liu said.
Yingli Green Energy executive director and chief strategy officer Bryan Li said, "We are delighted to partner with Sailing Capital, a leading RMB private equity fund with robust funding resources, to accelerate our footprint in the downstream solar energy market.
"As a long-term strategic repositioning, this cooperation is a solid step towards our transition from a PV manufacturer to a renewable energy solutions provider.
By securing a priority right in investing in Yingli Green Energy’s downstream solar projects, we should also be able to seek more sources of investment in solar PV projects, while at the same time minimizing potential risks."
Image: Yingli Green to launch downstream PV project investment fund. Photo: courtesy of frankie_8 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net.