State-run financier REC Ltd is expanding its international portfolio with a sanctioned green hydrogen ammonia project in Oman and prospective projects in Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, Chairman and Managing Director Vivek Kumar Dewangan told ETEnergyworld in an exclusive interview.
The expansion comes as REC became a ‘Maharatna’ company in September 2022, enabling it to invest in projects outside India. Dewangan sees this as an opportunity for the firm to finance green projects within the framework of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and the ‘One Sun, One World, One Grid’ (OSOWOG) initiative.
He said projects in the neighboring countries are in the pipeline and set to be finalized soon. “We have sent a team to Bhutan and are awaiting MEA clearance for the projects,” he said. The targeted projects include hydro power facilities, transmission lines connecting India to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and other forms of renewable energy.
The selection of these projects will be aligned with India’s strategic interests and will be guided by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
The IMEC is a proposed economic corridor designed to enhance economic development by promoting connectivity and integration among Asia, the Persian Gulf, and Europe across multiple sectors, including trade and energy.
The OSOWOG initiative was first proposed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2018 during the first assembly of the International Solar Alliance. According to a draft by India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, the initiative aims to supply power to around 140 countries through a common grid that will transfer solar energy.
REC has seen its loan book grow from Rs 3.85 trillion at the end of March 2022 to Rs 4.35 trillion at the end of March 2023. An additional Rs 190 billion were added in the first quarter of the current financial year. If this growth rate continues, Dewangan anticipates that the loan book could exceed Rs 5 trillion by the end of the year.
Last year, REC reported sanctions totaling Rs 2.68 trillion and is on track to reach nearly Rs 2 trillion by the end of September, with projections for the total sanctions for the year at around Rs 4 trillion and disbursements expected to be around Rs 1.5 trillion.
REC is an NBFC focusing on power sector financing and development across India. It provides financial assistance to the complete power-sector value chain, for various types of projects including generation, transmission & distribution and renewable energy.
The company has also diversified into the non-power infrastructure and logistics sector, to cover areas such as airports, metro, railways, ports, bridges, etc.
