SINGAPORE: City Developments Limited (CDL) has secured a S$250 million SDG Innovation Loan, in the form of a three-year revolving credit facility provided by DBS Bank Ltd. (DBS). This is a first-of-its-kind concept that CDL has pioneered for a sustainability-linked loan to accelerate innovative solutions that have a positive impact on SDGs.

The SDG Innovation Loan will be used for CDL’s general working capital and corporate funding. The  company will  be eligible  for a  discount  on  the  interest  rate  of  the loan when  it achieves sustainability-related performance targets mutually agreed   with  DBS on innovations that contribute positively to the SDGs.

To qualify, CDL is required to be the first in Singapore to adopt and apply such innovations to its projects. An authoritative expert or expert panel will be appointed to independently assess and endorse the innovative nature of CDL’s proposal against market norms. In addition, CDL must remain listed on at least one leading global sustainability index.

In 2015, a total of 17 SDGs were adopted by UN Member States including Singapore as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to mobilise efforts to tackle issues such as poverty, inequality and climate change.

Having integrated environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices into its business for over two decades, CDL adopts green finance as a natural progression of its long-standing commitment to sustainable development and low carbon operations.

In 2017, CDL issued the first green bond by a listed Singapore real estate company. The green bond raised S$100 million which was used to  repay  a  related  company  loan  that  financed  various  initiatives  to  enhance  energy  and  water efficiency at Republic Plaza, CDL’s flagship Grade A office building in the heart of Singapore’s 2Central  Business  District.

In  April  2019,  CDL  secured its first  green  loans  amounting  to  S$500 million,  marking  the  first  time  that  green  loans  in  Singapore  would be  used  for  new  property developments.

Chew Chong Lim, Managing Director & Global Head of Real Estate, Institutional Banking, DBS Bank, said, “DBS is privileged to have supported a leading global real estate company like CDL since the start of their sustainable financing journey through issuing green bonds and green loans. 

This  latest  SDG Innovation Loan  is  an  extension  of  our  commitment  to  not  only  provide financial  solutions that meet  the  changing  demands  of  businesses  but  to  advance  SDGs  to generate long-term value. We believe that partnerships like these can strengthen collective efforts to address increasingly complex sustainability challenges in new and different ways.”