DBS Bank tops Debtwire Asia Pacific (ex Japan) Loans League Table for Green and Sustainability-Linked Mandated Lead Arranger

INDUSTRY.co.id - Jakarta, 17 January 2022 – DBS Bank has ranked first in Debtwire’s Asia Pacific (ex Japan) loans league table for its role as Green and Sustainability-Linked Mandated Lead Arranger (MLA) for the full year 2021. This is the second consecutive year DBS has come out top of the ranking.

According to the league table, during this period, DBS extended USD 4.86 billion worth of green and sustainability-linked syndicated and club loans across 40 deals to finance the roll-out of green and transition strategies such as the promotion of renewable energy projects, green buildings and decarbonisation measures.

This is almost double 2020’s figure of USD 2.53 billion across 16 deals. The projects funded aim to address key areas of environmental concern such as climate change, natural resources depletion and loss of biodiversity, among others.

For instance, to reinforce its commitment to support the transition of transportation towards a low carbon mobility future, DBS provided Toyota Financial Services Singapore (TFSSG), a subsidiary of the financial services arm of Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota), with a SGD 150 million transition loan to grow its Electrified Vehicle sales in Singapore.

In Hong Kong, the bank also provided Kwoon Chung Bus Holdings Limited with a HKD 348 million sustainability-linked loan, the first for the company, to support their effort to ensure no less than 70% of their bus fleet will be more environmentally friendly in the next five years.

In China, DBS inked a RMB500 million green supply chain financing contract with Huaneng Tiancheng Financial Leasing Co. Ltd., to provide financial leasing services for renewable energy projects to facilitate China's clean energy sector.

Yulanda Chung, Head of Sustainability, Institutional Banking, DBS said, “This achievement speaks of DBS’ commitment as a purpose-driven bank to help companies generate long-term value while contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Being one of the largest capital allocators in the world, banks have a responsibility to ensure that capital is channelled to advance sustainability goals.”

To drive further sustainable progress, DBS advocates scaling up transition finance¹ and supporting clients to adopt incremental but instrumental solutions to reduce their carbon footprint – all of which are necessary to broaden and deepen the market.

Last year, DBS raised its sustainable finance target to SGD50 billion by 2024, accelerating its sustainability agenda to help customers incorporate sustainable business practices into their overall business strategy. DBS has also committed to ensuring net zero operational carbon emissions across the bank by 2022 and continues to reduce the bank’s carbon footprint while advancing its sustainable procurement agenda.