Dechert Advises Clime Capital on US$127 Million First Close of Its Second South East Asia Clean Energy Fund

Dechert has advised Clime Capital, a Singapore-based fund management company, on the first close of its South East Asia Clean Energy Fund II (SEACEF II) (the “Fund”). The Fund received US$127 million in commitments.

Similar to Clime Capital’s inaugural fund SEACEF I, SEACEF II will invest in promising renewable energy generation, energy efficiency, electric mobility, and electrical grid businesses at their early-stage, high-risk development phases. SEACEF II will also offer additional capital to accelerate the scale-up of its portfolio companies.

Dechert acted as lead counsel to Clime Capital, advising on structuring, legal, tax and regulatory aspects of the formation and fundraising of SEACEF II. The Fund is the first blended finance investment fund established in Southeast Asia to provide early-stage high-risk capital to support promising businesses accelerating the region's low-carbon transition.

Commenting on the fund close, Dean Collins, managing partner, Singapore at Dechert LLP, said, “Following the successful launch of SEACEF I, we are pleased to support Clime Capital once again as it continues making headway on investing in Southeast Asia’s transition to a low-carbon society. Tapping on Dechert’s investment funds structuring and establishment expertise, SEACEF II is one of the few closed-ended Article 8 funds focused on Southeast Asia. Building upon the principles of blended finance, we helped Clime Capital create a unique investment product which allows different investors, with different objectives, to participate together through a single fund vehicle towards projects that contribute to sustainable development goals.”

Joshua Kramer, Chief Investment Officer at Clime Capital, said, “The first close of SEACEF II lays the groundwork for Clime Capital to accelerate and contribute towards the region’s net-zero transition. By crowding in capital to de-risk early-stage businesses and development projects, we have demonstrated that small amounts can be leveraged to produce significant impacts. We are glad to draw on Dechert’s expertise as our lead legal advisor on the launch of SEACEF I in 2020 and now for the closure of SEACEF II, to secure meaningful funding for critical clean energy projects across Southeast Asia.”

The Fund’s first close is backed by junior first-loss investors, including Allied Climate Partners, Australian Development Investments, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP), and Impact Assets, among others. Senior equity investors include British International Investment (BII), the Cisco Foundation, FMO (the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Norway’s Norfund, REI Co-op, and Sweden’s Swedfund International.

The Dechert team was led by Singapore-based partner Dean Collins, supported by partner Thomas Kim and associates Anna Bellingham, Shawn Yeo, Shaw Ong, Jastine Yew in Singapore, as well as London-based partner Mikhaelle Schiappacasse and associates Rowena English-Verrell, Nikhil Nathwani and Tabatha Chandler in London.

About Dechert

Dechert is a global law firm that advises asset managers, financial institutions and corporations on issues critical to managing their business and their capital – from high-stakes litigation to complex transactions and regulatory matters. We answer questions that seem unsolvable, develop deal structures that are new to the market and protect clients’ rights in extreme situations. Our 1,000+ lawyers across 21 offices globally focus on the financial services, private equity, private credit, real estate, life sciences and technology sectors.