Emirates Central Cooling Systems Corporation (Empower), the world’s largest district cooling services provider, has prepaid two loan instalments of Dh194 million ($52.8 million) prior to their maturity.

The two instalments are part of Empower’s syndicated loan facility of $600 million and the bilateral loan facility of $127.8 million.

Ahmad Bin Shafar, chief executive officer of Empower, said: “We have pre-paid the syndicated loan facility instalment five months prior its maturity while the bilateral loan facility instalment was paid six months before its scheduled date. This reflects the robustness and sustainability of our business model and our prudent financial strategy that is paying off significantly.”

Empower has prepaid on July 30, 2015 its syndicated loan instalment of Dh147 million ($40 million) which was scheduled to be paid on December 31, 2015. It has also settled on August 4, 2015 an amount of Dh47 million ($12.8 million) representing the bilateral loan instalment that was scheduled to be paid on February 4, 2016.

“Empower continues to pursue the strategy to finance its projects through an optimal mix of debt and equity to maximise return to its shareholders,” Bin Shafar added.

 “Empower boasts an open dialogue with banks via which ensures competitive financing for its expansion. The company strongly believes that the cost-effective and ever-growing requirement for funding for the district cooling industry is dependent on this continuous dialogue between district cooling companies and local, regional and international banks,” Bin Shafar said.

“District cooling, being a utility business with long-term and stable cash flows, significantly reduces financing risks for banks and financial institutions and we have witnessed increased confidence of banks and financial institutions in financing UAE’s district cooling industry, notably Empower,” Bin Shafar added.

Bin Shafar also said that the growing confidence of banks in financing Empower’s district cooling projects also stems from Dubai’s support to the growth of this industry as the emirate looks at district cooling as a key component of its energy strategy and aims to considerably increase the penetration of district cooling services.

“We will continuously invest in further building our infrastructure and network to cater to the rapidly increasing demand for district cooling in Dubai. We are delighted to settle these two instalments ahead of the agreed timelines and we will continue to do as we see fit,” concluded Bin Shafar. – TradeArabia News Service