Japan’s Ichigo gets approval for green fund listing

Japan’s Ichigo Corporation has received approval to list its renewables fund on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.  

The Ichigo Green Infrastructure Fund will solely focus on solar power plants which have been operating for more than a year and are underpinned by long-term feed-in tariff contracts with Japanese utilities. The fund is managed by Ichigo Investment Advisors under a structure similar to real estate investment trusts, which aim to provide long-term, stable yields to investors. 

The company agreed to transfer 13 solar plants with a combined capacity of 25.8MW to the fund at a price of 10 billion yen ($95.5 million; €87.5 million) on Monday. The transaction will bring a consolidated gross profits of 3 billion yen to Ichigo. The company also plans to use the fresh capital raised from the IPO to fund future growth. 

Ichigo’s core business has long been real estate management, with the firm currently running two REITs on TSE. Ichigo launched its renewable energy business in 2012 and has since developed a portfolio of 26 solar power plants with a combined capacity of 44MW. The green fund is the firm’s third publicly listed investment vehicle. 

The Ichigo green fund will start trading on 1 December. Takara Leben Infrastructure Fund, the first infrastructure fund listed on TSE, is managed by the eponymous condominium developer and has been trading since June.

In April this year, four companies were reportedly planning to list their solar assets as trusts. They comprised Ichigo, Takara Leben, Japanese investment company Sparx Group and renewables firm Renewable Japan.