SEPTEMBERASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK9AT Capital Group of Singapore and Vitol, a Dutch commodities trading firm, have invested $350 million in Juniper Green Energy, an independent renewable energy power producer. The investment comes nearly two years after an initial $200 million commitment from AT Capital Group and Vitol. Juniper Green Energy, based in Delhi, said in a statement that the funding will be used to triple its operational capacity to 2.5 GW by 2026."Their impressive project pipeline, combined with their proficiency in EPC and O&M services, aligns seamlessly with our vision for a more sustainable and greener future," said Sanjay Bakliwal, Director at AT Capital Group.Juniper Green Energy has a nearly 800 MW operational portfolio, 435 MW of under-construction capacity, and a development pipeline of more than 3 GW of solar, wind, and hybrid power projects."Vitol is committed to investing in sustainable energy solutions worldwide," said Mike Muller, Head of Vitol Asia. We are delighted to support Juniper Green Energy's ambitions to deliver a growing renewable power portfolio at a time of rising power demand."Juniper began operations in October 2018 and currently has an operational portfolio of 800MW, 435MW under construction, and a development pipeline of more than 3 GW of solar, wind, and hybrid projects. For its renewable projects, the company has end-to-end internal competencies in EPC and O&M services. Buyandship, a global cross-border eCommerce platform headquartered in Hong Kong, announced on September 11 the first closing of its Series B round, led by Cool Japan Fund, with a $10 million strategic investment.The funds will be used for operations automation, research and development in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning, and market expansion into the Southeast Asia (SEA) regions, according to a statement released by the company on Monday.Cool Japan Fund was established in November 2013 as a public-private partnership backed by the Japanese government with the goal of contributing to Japan's long-term economic growth through the expansion of overseas demand and supply of appealing products and services unique to Japanese lifestyle and culture.Buyandship claims to be a market leader in cross-border ecommerce thanks to its strong community, data analytics, and logistics network, having processed $383 million in gross merchandise value (GMV) in the previous fiscal year.Buyandship stated that it has worked hard to improve its technological capabilities in order to provide real value to customers. It has built an automated shopping assistant over the last 12 months, utilising a Robotic Process Automation (RPA) model to increase its order processing capacity.In the future, the Buyaholic social commerce platform will include an AI-powered recommendation system. This system will use an algorithm to automatically feed user-generated content (UGC) based on behavioural records in order to increase user stickiness and engagement. AT CAPITAL GROUP & VITOL INJECTS $350 MILLION IN CAPITAL TO JUNIPER GREEN ENERGYBUYANDSHIP CONCLUDES SERIES B ROUND WITH $10 MILLION INVESTMENTNEWSROOM
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