Building upon its strong track record in South East Asia, GL Garrad Hassan has opened a new office in Singapore. Senior Investment and Strategy Advisor Ragna Schmidt-Haupt has been appointed to drive renewable energy services in the country, with a strategic focus on solar investment.
Singapore has been targeted as an area for further expansion due to the country’s status as a regional hub for investors, banks, manufacturers and project developers. Its strategic location and favourable tax and administrative regime are cementing its role as a platform for renewable energy investment in South East Asia.
The moves comes as all of the GL Group’s business units in Singapore have been brought together in one location to leverage the multi-disciplinary capabilities of Germanischer Lloyd, GL Noble Denton and GL Garrad Hassan. Having one integrated office will allow the GL Group to offer its clients a full scope of classification, engineering, oil & gas, renewables (wind, solar, wave & tidal) and software services from a single location.
GL Garrad Hassan will have a strong presence at the upcoming Singapore International Energy Week (22nd-25th Oct 2012). Ragna will be chairing a panel during the PV Asia Pacific Financial Conference on supporting bankability and lowering borrowing and insurance costs. In addition, her colleague Joe Phillips, Head of Strategy & Policy for GL Garrad Hassan, will be presenting on the financing of offshore wind projects at the opening plenary session of the Offshore Renewable Energy Conference on 24th October, as well as participating in a panel debate on the opportunities and challenges for offshore renewables in Asia-Pacific.
Ragna’s extensive experience in the solar industry leaves her well positioned to head-up GL Garrad Hassan’s activities in Singapore and she is already leading commercial consultancy assignments for investor clients in the region. In her previous role, she was responsible for equity sales of utility-scale solar power plants built in Europe and Canada at solar project developer Enfinity Germany. Prior to this, she led Mergers & Acquisition activities in Asia at Conergy.
Sitting within GL Garrad Hassan’s global Strategy & Policy Unit, Ragna will advise investors, governments, development bodies and industry players operating in the region, on the full range of renewable technologies. Key services offered will be policy analyses, market reviews and strategic advice. In addition, Ragna will support independent engineering services and due diligence reviews.
Dr Andrew Garrad, non-executive Chairman of GL Garrad Hassan, commented: “Having experienced a surge in demand for our technical and strategic services in Asian markets, we are pleased to establish our presence in Singapore with the appointment of Ragna. Her track record in solar investment will undoubtedly be a strong asset in this rapidly developing market.”
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Press release, October 23, 2012; Image: GL