Newsroom.

Times are difficult and require difficult solutions. With these words, Bernd Fislage, CEO of Kommunalkredit, described the current situation in view of climate change, the energy crisis and the Ukraine war at the Kommunale Sommergespräche (Municipal Summer Talks). Fislage advocated for investments in infrastructure, especially in sustainable energy. According to Fislage, investments in infrastructure are effective instruments for meeting social and environmental needs in society.

Calculations by the consulting firm McKinsey indicate that global investments of 275 quadrillion dollars are needed to achieve the zero-emissions target by 2050. Birgit Brinda from Kommunalkredit emphasized at the Kommunale Sommergespräche (Municipal Summer Talks) in Bad Aussee that partnerships between companies and financiers are more important than ever. Currently, Kommunalkredit and OMV are investing in the production of green hydrogen at the OMV refinery in Schwechat.

Deutsche GigaNetz, the German fibre operator backed by DWS Infrastructure and InfraRed Capital Partners, has closed a major debt raise to finance its roll-out. The company raised the debt from Germany’s LBBW, NordLB and KfW – lending both through its development finance arm and its KfW IPEX commercial bank unit –; Dutch banks ABN Amro and ING; Austria’s Kommunalkredit; Sweden’s SEB and the UK’s NatWest. The German fibre financing market boomed in the past year, with 1.9 billion euro in 2020.

The world is changing: the ongoing healthcare crisis, supply chain disruptions, the Russia/Ukraine war, rising interest rates and high inflation rates. But one thing remains constant – the need for modern, efficient infrastructure. Kommunalkredit, as an infrastructure and energy specialist, focuses on creating a better world with its projects by enabling the development of sustainable infrastructure and combining responsible investments with attractive returns.

Kommunalkredit’s second infrastructure debt fund, Fidelio Infrastructure Debt Fund Europe 2, completed a seed close this month (August 2022). The fund is targeting 400 million euro to 500 million euro. Kommunalkredit makes its own investments in parallel with the fund, allowing it to present itself as a dependable partner with aligned interests. At the end of 2021, the bank invested 268.5 million euro in infrastructure and energy transaction in parallel with the first vintage. Fidelio KA Infrastructure Debt Fund Europe 1 is fully invested and the investments showed stable performance in the face of the COVID-19 challenges witnessed in 2020 and 2021.