Linyang is a private sector enterprise engaged in solar power generation as well as the manufacture of electricity meters. Headquartered in Qidong, Jiangsu Province, the Company has been listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange since 2011.

Linyang’s largest shareholder is Qidong Huahong Electronics Co., Ltd. (Huahong) with a 40.69 percent equity interest. Mr. Yonghua Lu, founder and Chairman of Linyang, owns 90 percent of the shares in Huahong and a direct interest in Linyang of 4.54 percent, making him the actual controller of Linyang with a 41 percent economic interest. The rest of Linyang’s shares are widely distributed among many institutional and individual investors.

The total project cost is estimated at about US$170 million, which will be financed by a combination of Company’s internal cash generation and the IFC financing package comprising: (i) an IFC A Loan, for IFC’s own account; (ii) a B1 Loan for the account of participants;  (iii) a B2 Loan for the account of participants under the Managed Co-Lending Portfolio Program (MCPP);  and (iv) a Trust Loan from IFC acting in its capacity as the implementing entity for the MCPP.

The Project will support a private renewable energy developer to enter the subsidy-free solar generation space, demonstrating the role for the private sector in the electricity market in China which is dominated by large state-owned players. The proposed investment will introduce commercial banks and (via MCPP) non-bank institutional investors to zero subsidy solar power in China, supporting sector sustainability.

The project is going to support Linyang to implement its first grid-parity projects in China. Out of these 299 MW solar assets, half will be constructed in the provinces of Anhui and Hebei, which are frontier regions.