22nd June 2022 – DBS announced today that it has extended an AUD 295 million green loan to GIC for the refinancing of Chifley Tower Sydney, an iconic development in the heart of Sydney’s Central Business District. Chifley Tower Sydney has attained Green Star certification by the Green Building Council of Australia1 as well as a 5.5-Star NABERS energy rating2.
The facility is one of the largest green loans extended by a Singapore lender in the Australia market and is also DBS’ first AUD-denominated green loan.
Ang Teck Wee, Head of Government-linked Corporations, Institutional Banking, DBS, said, “GIC and DBS share a common purpose of realising a more sustainable tomorrow for future generations. We believe that sustainable financing solutions are an important enabler in helping our clients transition towards lower-carbon business models, and GIC’s green loan will set a positive example for other long-term investors and asset managers to make similar moves to green their portfolios.”
Chew Chong Lim, Head of Real Estate, Institutional Banking, DBS, said, “We are pleased to leverage the strength of our franchise and global networks to break new ground in Australia with one of the largest green loans to be extended by a Singapore lender, as well as the bank’s first AUD-denominated green loan. Australia is ranked by the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark as one of the greenest real estate markets in the world, and we see a lot of promise for DBS to support property players looking to raise sustainable financing to fund their continued investment in Australia.”
As a long-term investor, sustainability is integral to GIC’s mandate and continues to be a key priority for GIC. This green loan is consistent with GIC’s belief that assets with strong sustainability practices offer prospects of better risk-adjusted returns over the long term, and that this relationship will strengthen over time as market externalities are priced in. This green loan is part of GIC’s holistic and long-term approach towards sustainability across the firm’s investment and corporate processes.
The green loan is part of DBS’ broader efforts to provide corporates with more sustainable financing solutions as they transition their operations and portfolios towards a low-carbon future. DBS committed SGD 20.5 billion in sustainable financing transactions in 2021, taking the bank’s cumulative efforts to SGD 39.4 billion, or close to 80% of the bank’s SGD 50 billion sustainable financing target by 2024.
Footnotes
- Founded by Green Building Council of Australia in 2003, Green Star is an internationally recognised rating system setting the standard for healthy, resilient, positive buildings and places.
- NABERS (which stands for the National Australian Built Environment Rating System) provides simple, reliable, and comparable sustainability ratings for the built environment in Australia.
