Manulife US Reit bags US$100m maiden green loan from OCBC Bank

Published Wed, May 20, 2020 · 02:05 PM

MANULIFE US Reit on Wednesday said it has secured a US$100 million Incremental Green Loan Facility from OCBC Bank, the sole lender and green-loan advisor for this transaction.

This new five-year term loan is the Reit's maiden green loan. It was raised under Manulife US Reit's new green-finance framework, which was developed together with OCBC Bank in line with relevant international principles and guidelines.

The loan facility will be secured by share charges over a Singapore subsidiary of Manulife US Reit and assignments of certain intercompany loans and share pledges over shares in the direct owner of the property.

Proceeds will be used primarily to refinance Peachtree, a 27-storey Class A office building in Midtown Atlanta, a commercial and residential neighbourhood in Atlanta in the US state of Georgia. Peachtree has received the ENERGY STAR® certification by the US Environmental Protection Agency for six consecutive years (since 2014) for its "superior energy-efficiency performance".

The manager may also use the proceeds for environmental initiatives in the other properties in the Reit's portfolio, such as installing energy-efficient equipment and water-saving facilities.

Jill Smith, chief executive of the manager, said: "Besides minimising the environmental footprint of our properties, our sustainability strategy complements our proactive capital-management approach in terms of diversifying our funding sources with green financing."