ASIA Symbol, a Royal Golden Eagle (RGE) member company, has bagged a one billion yuan (S$190 million) sustainability-linked loan from a consortium of China banks.

They are the Agricultural Bank of China, which leads the transaction, the Export-Import Bank of China, Bank of Communications and China Merchants Bank, RGE said in a press statement on Thursday (May 18).

Pulp producer Asia Symbol will benefit from lower interest rates if it meets specific key performance indicators (KPIs) in the next three years. A third-party environmental certification agency will verify the annual assessment results.

The interest rates will be linked to five KPIs, namely reducing atmospheric pollutant emissions and water consumption, improving water recycling rates and alkaline recovery rates, as well as creating new job opportunities.

RGE China vice-president Langen Shu said that the group aims to achieve a 30 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030. In 2022, RGE raised US$1.6 billion in sustainability-linked loans for its various business groups