ThomasLloyd is planning to raise up to $340m (€294m) in an initial public offering for a UK government-backed Asian sustainable energy infrastructure investment trust which will be listed on the trust on the London Stock Exchange.

The investment manager said the ThomasLloyd Energy Impact Trust (TLEI), which is expected to receive up to £25m (€29m) of seed capital from the UK government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, will invest in a diversified portfolio of unlisted sustainable energy infrastructure assets in fast-growing and emerging economies in Asia.

TLEI has $59m worth of seed assets comprising interests in platforms with more than 500MW of electricity generating capacity once fully operational, the manager said.

Sue Inglis, chair of ThomasLloyd Energy Impact, said: “Demand for energy in Asia is profound and set to rise in the coming decades.

”Asia is home to 60% of the world’s population and the challenge of CO2 emissions in Asia is becoming ever more pressing. Investing as usual will not get us to net zero.”

Michael Sieg, CEO of ThomasLloyd, said: “Asia is the world’s largest and fastest-growing consumer of energy, but it is also the largest emitter of carbon dioxide; it is critical for the future of the world that we address this.

“The fact that the average ‘carbon cost’ of GDP in Asia is four times as high as that of the four largest economies in Europe, means that investment in renewable energy in Asia is vital to achieving a net-zero world.”

To read the digital edition of the latest IPE Real Assets magazine click here.