China ‘full of potential’ for green energy trusts

BlackRock’s Poppy Allonby believes China is offering the best potential for green energy.

The co-manager of the £113m New Energy investment trust says the combination of government funding and new listings make it one of the largest growth areas for this sector, and she has a 12.7% exposure to the country.

“China has begun to reveal details of its new five-year plan, which includes a step up in its targets for energy efficiency,” she says.

“The government plans to spend 15trn renminbi in the sector over the next 10 years, meaning sectors such as wind are expected to grow at compound annual growth rate in excess of 20%.

“China has also established companies not yet listed, so the new issues market potentially offers more investment opportunities,” she adds.

Allonby says Brazil, India and Korea are also developing new energy industries, but for now remain behind China.

“India has set some tough targets for reducing emissions, while Brazil had held a bidding round to build out wind farms, which potentially could be a large market,” she says.

Meanwhile, Allonby says the long-term drivers for renewable energy are still in place.