Energy saving-Lights

The second-largest continent in terms of both population and area, Africa also has the world’s lowest electric power consumption level – an average 520 kilowatt hours (kWh) per person annually in sub-Saharan Africa against 6,000kWh in Hong Kong.

“Whisky is liquid sunshine,” playwright George Bernard Shaw famously quipped. Unfortunately, while sunshine is free of charge (unlike the best Irish spirit), it cannot be bottled and poured as needed.

Going green evokes images of shutting smokestack power stations, switching to electric motor fleets or putting solar panels on factory roofs. Bankers, insurers and fund managers do not usually spring to mind.

Tot up the costs of any item or service and you quickly find that energy is a key component.

Green and sustainable investment was a recurring topic at the fourth Belt and Road Summit, along with the official theme “Creating and Realising Opportunities”.

Mainland China's Silk Road Fund (SRF) has announced plans to acquire a 49% stake in Acwa Power Renewable Energy Holding (APRE), the renewable-energy platform developed by Riyadh-headquartered utilities business Acwa Power.