CapitaLand Mall Trust Management Limited (CMTML), the manager of CapitaLand Mall Trust (CMT), announced on October 1 that HSBC Institutional Trust Services (Singapore) Limited, as trustee of CMT, has secured a S$200 million (US$144 million) five-year green loan from OCBC Bank.

This represents CMT’s first foray into green financing and all the proceeds raised will be used exclusively to finance or refinance properties within its portfolio that have achieved BCA Green Mark certification.    

CMTML has established a green loan framework guided by the Green Loan Principles from the Loan Market Association and the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association. In support of the BCA’s Green Building Masterplan, CMT is committed to achieving BCA Green Mark certification for all its operational properties by 2020. As of August 31, 14 of CMT’s 15 properties are certified BCA Green Mark Gold and above.     

CMTML CEO Tony Tan says the green loan attests to CMT’s green initiatives and supports its efforts in creating a more sustainable environment. “It allows us to diversify our funding sources, with the flexibility to deploy the proceeds to the majority of CMT’s properties that are already certified green,” he adds.  

Elaine Lam, head of global corporate banking at OCBC Bank, says CMT’s first green loan demonstrates the company’s strong commitment to investing in a low-carbon and sustainable future. “In 2019, we have seen an exponential growth in the sustainable finance sector in Singapore, and we are now only entering the early phase of a trend which will persist for years to come. We are very excited by the prospects of the sector,” she points out. 

CMT is listed in several sustainability indices including the FTSE4Good Developed Index, FTSE4Good ASEAN 5 Index, iEdge ESG Leaders Index, iEdge ESG Transparency Index, STOXX Global ESG Leaders, and Global ESG Governance Leaders.

CMT is the first real estate investment trust (Reit) listed on Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited in July 2002. At S$9.8 billion as of August 31, CMT is also the largest retail Reit by market capitalization in Singapore. It owns and invests in quality income-producing assets, which are used, or predominantly used, for retail purposes primarily in Singapore.

CMTML is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore-listed CapitaLand Limited, one of Asia’s largest diversified real estate groups.