Hoi Hup Realty bags maiden S$332.5m green loan
Loan will partially finance the S$475 million acquisition of Hyatt-branded luxury hotel Andaz Singapore
Singapore
SINGAPORE property developer Hoi Hup Realty has secured a S$332.5 million green club loan to partially finance its S$475 million acquisition of Hyatt-branded luxury hotel Andaz Singapore.
The loan was obtained through Hoi Hup's subsidiary, Ophir-Rochor Hotel, and is the group's first green loan. It is also the first green loan for South-east Asia's hospitality industry, according to a joint statement by OCBC Bank and Hoi Hup on Monday.
OCBC Bank acted as the green loan adviser, while Maybank Singapore and United Overseas Bank were the other club banks under the facility.
Andaz Singapore is the latest BCA Green Mark certified property for Hoi Hup Realty. The five-star hotel received the BCA Green Mark (Hotel) Goldplus Award in 2013, for having environment-friendly features that yield energy and water savings.
The green loan was issued under Hoi Hup Realty's green loan framework, in accordance with green loan principles administered by the Loan Market Association, and the Asia-Pacific Loan Market Association in 2018.
"It provided guidelines for Hoi Hup Realty's evaluation of the eligibility of Andaz Singapore as a green project based on its sustainability objectives, and will further guide the developer in the management of net proceeds from the green loan," Hoi Hup and OCBC said.
Wong Swee Chun, chairman of Hoi Hup Realty, noted that this green loan demonstrates the group's commitment to sustainability in the built environment. Linus Goh, head of global commercial banking at OCBC Bank, added that the transaction highlights an "urgency in the shift towards green financing" within the region.
OCBC intends to build a sustainable finance portfolio of S$10 billion by 2022. The bank also noted that the deal serves as a "momentum builder heading into the new year", given Singapore's ambitions to become a hub for green finance.
At the Singapore FinTech Festival and Singapore Week of Innovation and TeCHnology (SFF x SWITCH) last month, the Monetary Authority of Singapore announced the launch of a US$2 billion investment programme to support the growth of climate-friendly projects.
Known as the Green Investments Programme (GIP), the new initiative will channel funds to asset managers who are committed to deepening green finance activities and capabilities in Singapore. MAS also said then that it would develop grant schemes to support the mainstreaming of green and sustainability-linked loans.
Most recently, Keppel Reit announced that it has obtained an unsecured S$150 million green loan facility from OCBC Bank. This is Keppel Reit's second green loan facility, following a S$505 million green loan obtained in June this year.
