Singapore’s United Overseas Bank (UOB) has unveiled a U-Solar programme that enables Asian businesses and homeowners to connect with its solar company partners for solar installations. The clients will be able to switch to solar power through the new programme.
UOB has branches setup in most Southeast Asian countries. Its U-Solar programme was launched in Malaysia, with a potential roll out in Singapore later this year. UOB will also launch the solar programme in other Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand and Indonesia in the future.
The bank has conducted research with customers on the use of solar energy. It has observed that many of them consider the use of solar power to be costly.
For that reason, U-Solar offers two solutions to help Malaysian companies purchase solar power with minimum upfront capital. Companies can purchase a solar power system using UOB Malaysia’s green loan facility—or, apply for a two percent rebate under the Green Technology Financing Scheme 2.01.
It also offers a zero percent interest installment plan on U-Solar’s online portal for homeowners. The plan is valid up to 36 months for the purchase of a solar system.
UOB’s platform comprises packages from its Malaysian solar partners ERS Energy, PlusSolar and Solarvest. Corporates and homeowners can install solar panels at homes, factories, and offices with the help of those solar project developers.
According to local media reports, the bank will have different solar partners for each market. The bank, through its collaboration with solar companies will offer installation, commissioning, operations and after-sales service packages. In addition, UOB offers financial solutions and loans to fund capital requirements of solar companies. The financial solutions include sukuks, project loans, portfolio financing and cash management services.
UOB is also offering end-to-end contract-based financing solutions for engineering, procurement, and construction contractors. These solutions range from bid bonds to letters of credit issuance to performance guarantees to working capital facilities.
Wong Kim Choong, chief executive officer of UOB Malaysia, told the local media that, “Through our research and engagement with our customers, we observed that many of them think that using solar power requires intensive upfront capital and is costly to maintain. With U-Solar, we hope to help our customers better understand the benefits of using solar power and to address their concerns of costs by providing them with flexible repayment plans at competitive market rates.”