Malaysian oil and gas group Petronas will make its first foray into international renewables with the acquisition of Amplus Energy, a regional distributed solar developer.

State-owned Petronas – one of Asia’s biggest oil groups – said the deal marks its “strategic intent to grow in the renewable energy space as part of our strategy to step out beyond oil and gas into the new energy business”.

Singapore-based Amplus – also known by the brand name M+ – develops ground-mounted and rooftop solar for commercial and industrial (C&I) applications. It serves more than 150 corporate customers across Asia and the Middle East, according to a statement.

The value of the acquisition from investment group I Squared Capital was not disclosed. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of April.

The Malaysian group joins a growing list of oil and gas majors seeking to gain a foothold in global renewables markets.

The Amplus acquisition mirrors a debut move by Shell in Asian renewables that saw the European supermajor buy a 49% stake in Cleantech Solar, a specialist in developing projects that supply power for large corporates in the region.