Japan's JERA says made sufficient bond disclosures after climate group complaint

Japanese power generation firm JERA has pushed back against claims made by an Australian climate activist group, saying it had made sufficient disclosures when it issued a $300 million bond in Singapore last year.

Market Forces in February lodged a complaint with Singapore Exchange (SGX), saying JERA, Japan's biggest power generator and one of the world's biggest buyers of liquefied natural gas, had not properly disclosed systemic risks over its investments in LNG.

It criticized JERA's description of the impact of the war in Ukraine on the LNG business, adding that the bond's prospectus did not mention litigation in Australia or cite a business plan to manage a potentially rapid shift to renewable energy from fossil fuels.

A JERA spokesperson said in a email to Reuters that the company believes it made sufficient disclosures with the bond issuance but did not elaborate further.

SGX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

JERA, a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power (9501.T) and Chubu Electric Power (9502.T), has the capacity to provide about a third of Japan's thermal power generation output.

The complaint came nearly a year after Market Forces and four other groups jointly urged Tokyo Electric and Chubu Electric to improve climate-related risk disclosures at their annual shareholders meetings. Those proposals were not approved.