Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

My professor from IIT Delhi (equiv to MIT in the US), and a 25 year veteran in solar energy space is looking for a $25M funding to set up a solar energy plant in the state of Gujarat, India. He has worked out an extensive business plan with detailed cash flow (DCF)statements, which include guaranteed payments by the state government over next 20 years. He has approved funding from 3 Indian banks, however, the interest rates on these loan are on the higher side (12-12.5% range). He is looking to borrow at a lower interest rate. Where do I find investor(s) who might be interested in hearing his sales pitch? This project is a repeatable across the country.

Hello Vicky, it seems that your project shows strong fundamentals and the required support to attract investment capital. However, given the current state of the global economy, raising any type of equity, equity-linked, or debt investments has become extremely difficult. The fact that you are looking to raise rather sizable capital requirements for a project abroad, along with the recent appreciation of the Indian Rupee against the U.S. Dollar will likely further diminish your chances to successfully tap into the U.S. capital markets.   

Fortunately, there may be other options available to you. For instance have you considered researching grant and funding programs offered by the World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC), International Monetary Fund (IMF), UN Development Program, and other similar organizations? There are many programs available that foster the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, counter the effects of global climate change, and spur the development of alternative energy resources in developing countries.

Another avenue you could explore is pitching your finance request to large banks that have a track record of providing project financing for medium to large infrastructure programs. German Deutsche Bank is one of them.

If you are determined to try your luck in the U.S., you will probably need to register your Indian company as a foreign issuer, so you could sell equity or debt securities on U.S. OTC (over-the-counter) or pinksheets exchanges.

Vicky, all this is possible, however, it will require a lot of legwork.

Anyways, if you want to discuss your project and strategic business objectives in greater detail, please feel free to send me a PM and I will try to give you a few more pointers.

I hope this helps.


Mark



-------------------------


Jackson Steiner
http://www.JacksonSteiner.com

Advanced Document Design for entrepreneurs, intermediaries, and the financial services industry.
http://www.Publications.FastVentures.com