23 Mar 2023
Frasers Property wins ‘Best Green Loan’ at The Asset Triple A Sustainable Capital Markets Awards 2022
Assistant Vice President, Group Treasury, Tan Hui Hui (second from left) received the award on 14 March 2023 in Hong Kong, together with Ramal Chatterjee, Director, Head of S.E.A. Loans & Leverage Finance of Barclays Bank PLC (first from left), Benhon Tei, Vice President, ESG Finance APAC, Asian Investment Banking Division from MUFG Bank, Ltd. (third from left) and Lawrence Choi, Director, Debt Capital Markets – Loans & Bonds from MUFG Bank, Ltd. (fourth from left)
Frasers Property’s US$400 million syndicated green term loan (“Green Loan”) that was signed in September 2022 was named ‘Best Green Loan’ at The Asset Triple A Sustainable Capital Markets Awards 2022.
Underwritten and book run by Barclays Bank PLC, MUFG Bank, Ltd. and CTBC Bank Co., Ltd., the five-year US$400 million syndicated green term loan facility was issued under Frasers Property’s Green Finance Framework. Established as part of our commitment towards responsible investment, the Framework is designed to facilitate the issuance of green bonds and green loans by the Group.
Frasers Property’s Green Finance Framework was developed in accordance with the International Capital Market Association’s Green Bond Principles (June 2021) and the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association, Loan Market Association and Loan Syndications and Trading Association’s Green Loan Principles (February 2021).
The ‘Best Green Loan’ Award
The Green Loan was launched on the back of a successful syndication of the A$600 million sustainability-linked syndicated term loan and revolving credit facility for Frasers Property Australia that closed in May 2022. The strong result of the May 2022 transaction helped build a strong momentum for this award-winning transaction, resulting in the facility size of the Green Loan being upsized from US$300 million to US$400 million. In turn, the successful closing of the Green Loan facilitated the successful syndication of the recent five-year A$340 million and US$75 million syndicated sustainability-linked loan to Frasers Property AHL Limited in February 2023.
In accordance with the Framework, the proceeds of Green Loan are used to finance the Group’s holding in the units of Frasers Centrepoint Trust. The retail real estate investment trust (REIT) is one of the largest suburban retail mall owners and operators in Singapore and has obtained a 5-star rating in its latest Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) Real Estate Assessment report.
Frasers Centrepoint Asset Management Ltd. (the manager of Frasers Centrepoint Trust) regularly assesses its properties to identify improvement opportunities and continuously upgrade their buildings for optimal performance. Hougang Mall is the latest building in its portfolio to attain BCA Green Mark Platinum alongside Causeway Point, Central Plaza, Century Square, Tiong Bahru Plaza and White Sands
Barclays Bank PLC, a regular partner in our green financing journey, is the sole green loan coordinator for the Green Loan, has advised Frasers Property Treasury in structuring this Green Loan in line with Green Loan Principles requirements. The Green Loan builds in a reducing price structure with interest cost reduction from the second year onwards if a minimum of four-star rating is maintained in Frasers Centrepoint Trust’s latest GRESB Real Estate Assessment Report, which will be assessed annually.
The Asset Triple A Sustainable Capital Markets Awards, entering their third decade, represent the industry's most prestigious awards for the primary market for best issuers, best deals, and best advisers in equity, debt, loans, M&A, and structured finance.
The award was presented to Tan Hui Hui, Assistant Vice President, Group Treasury, Frasers Property, at an award ceremony on 14 March 2023 in Hong Kong. Frasers Property Treasury, the treasury arm of Frasers Property Limited, played a central role in the Green Loan.
Since our first green loan in September 2018, Frasers Property has to-date secured over S$9 billion of green or sustainability-linked loans and bonds, which accounts for approximately half of the Group’s net borrowings.
Loo Choo Leong, Group Chief Financial Officer of Frasers Property Limited, explains: “We are encouraged by the credit market’s recognition of Frasers Property’s strong sustainability credentials and financial strength. Sustainable financing plays an important role in driving sustainable development and is an integral part of the Group’s net-zero carbon journey as a responsible investor-developer-manager.”
Frasers Property increased its green and sustainable financing since its first green loan in September 2018