Chinachem pioneers Asia’s first triple-themed syndicated loan
Published: Feb 2026
Best Sustainable Treasury Solution
Overall Winner
Chinachem Group
Photo of Tim Wong, Chinachem Group.
Founded in 1960, Chinachem Group (CCG) is a leading private real estate company in Hong Kong. CCG manages a diverse portfolio of investment and development properties with a footprint of over nine million square feet. Leveraging its extensive expertise in real estate development, CCG delivers high-quality residential spaces and maintains a robust pipeline of commercial projects, while its property services business creates value by managing assets for sustainable, long-term growth. CCG is also a hotel owner and operator, managing and operating properties under the Nina Hotels and Lodgewood by Nina Hospitality brands. The acquisition of Pine Care Group marks CCG’s expansion into elderly care services, underscoring its commitment to delivering pristine care for the elderly. With a workforce of over 4,000 employees, CCG is dedicated to making better places to live, work and raise future generations in Hong Kong and beyond.
The challenge
Aligning financing instruments with ESG initiatives is inherently challenging. Similar to green and social loans, these financial options require investments in eligible projects. Identifying the right projects has become a critical factor in arranging these loans; however, it can be difficult to find suitable projects.
Borrowers lose the flexibility to allocate capital to other initiatives and lack incentives to drive other sustainability performance targets. On the other hand, sustainability‑linked loans (SLL) are designed primarily to fund general working capital while motivating borrowers to achieve specific sustainability goals.
Currently, there are no specific requirements governing the use of SLL funds, meaning borrowers are not obligated to invest in ESG-related projects. This is why Chinachem Group (CCG) aims to create a new framework that not only governs loan usage but also encourages borrowers to reach ambitious sustainability performance targets.
Additionally, this approach could serve as a replicable model for aligning financial instruments with sustainable urban transformation. CCG’s goal is to design a financing instrument that guides business units in integrating ESG objectives into their strategies while incentivising borrowers to meet the company’s ESG targets.
The solution
CCG has set a new benchmark for sustainable finance for combining green, social and sustainability‑linked components into one syndicated loan. Additionally, CCG has established an enhanced sustainable finance framework, becoming the first real estate developer to comply with Hong Kong Taxonomy and Common Ground Taxonomy.
This enhanced framework was established in October 2024, with the triple-themed syndicated loan of HK$8bn arranged in April 2025. The loan operates under CCG’s enhanced sustainable finance framework, and both initiatives are based in Hong Kong.
As the borrower, CCG secured final commitments from 12 leading international, regional and local banks, achieving an oversubscription of 2.5 times.
The Facility is backed by:
Mandated Lead Arrangers and Bookrunners: Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited, DBS Bank Hong Kong, Hang Seng Bank Limited, The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited.
Mandated Lead Arrangers: Fubon Financial Holding Co., Ltd., Bank of Communications (Hong Kong) Limited, Industrial Bank Co., Ltd., Hong Kong.
Lead Arranger: OCBC Bank (Hong Kong) Limited.
Arrangers: Bank of East Asia, China Everbright Bank Co., Ltd., Hong Kong Branch, Chiyu Banking Corporation Limited, Nanyang Commercial Bank, Limited.
Facility Agent: Hang Seng Bank Limited.
Sole ESG Coordinator: The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited.
“The Adam Smith Award Asia is one of the most prestigious accolades in the corporate treasury space. Being named the winner of Best Sustainable Treasury Solution is a tremendous honour for Chinachem Group. It not only affirms our leadership in sustainable finance in Hong Kong, but also recognises us as a pioneer across Asia. This award validates our commitment to embedding ESG goals into our corporate strategy and aligning our financing practices with internationally recognised sustainable finance frameworks. It inspires us to continue thinking beyond conventional boundaries and to keep innovating in the sustainable finance space.”
Tim Wong, Senior Manager, Treasury
Best practice and innovation
CCG is the first corporate in Asia to set a new benchmark for sustainable finance for combining green, social and sustainability-linked components into one syndicated loan. It also established the enhanced sustainable finance framework, becoming the first real estate developer to comply with both Hong Kong Taxonomy and Common Ground Taxonomy. This framework enables its business units to integrate the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals into their strategies, fulfilling the loan usage requirement.
A second-party opinion was issued by ISS corporate in September 2024 for the enhanced sustainable finance framework.
Key benefits
Improved visibility.
Strong governance for loan usage.
Future-proof solution.
Incorporate ESG key performance indicator metrics in business strategy.
“For the syndicated loan objectives, we have two environmental performance metrics related to reducing electricity consumption and achieving a sustainable building assessment scheme rating, along with a social metric focused on youth participation in our vocational training,” explains Tim Wong, Senior Manager, Treasury. “CCG’s triple-themed syndicated loan marks a game-changing milestone in sustainable finance – not only for the company, but for the entire region. It is the first loan structure in Asia to integrate green, social and sustainability-linked features into a single facility, creating a replicable and scalable financing model that aligns capital usage with corporate ESG objectives.”
The Adam Smith Awards Asia are the industry benchmark for best practice and innovation in corporate treasury. To find out more please visit treasurytoday.com/adam-smith-awards-asia
