DBS Bank has provided a A$212 million (S$177.7 million) five-year sustainability-linked term loan to Hong Kong-listed Link Real Estate Investment Trust (Link Reit).

Loan proceeds will be used for general corporate funding purposes, including sustainability initiatives. The loan was taken in Australian dollars to match the currency of Link Reit's acquisition of 100 Market Street, an office tower in Sydney.

DBS has structured the loan to incorporate a reduced pricing structure with interest cost savings. This means the Reit will obtain interest savings if it maintains its listing on leading global sustainability indices.

Link also needs to achieve sustainability milestones based on its performance in the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB).

The loan is the first by a Reit in Asia to be linked to GRESB performance, DBS noted in a Sunday announcement.

It is also Link Reit's first sustainability-linked loan following the Reit's issuance of US$500 million green bonds in 2016 and HK$4 billion (S$751.8 million) convertible green bonds in 2019.

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DBS shares were trading at S$17.02 as at 11.39am on Monday, down S$1.14 or 6.3 per cent on a cum-dividend basis.