DBS has extended a A$295 million ($284.31 million) green loan to Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC for the refinancing of Chifley Tower Sydney, announced the bank on June 22.

The facility is one of the largest green loans extended by a Singapore lender in the Australia market and is also DBS’ first AUD-denominated green loan.

Completed in 1992, the Chifley Tower has attained Green Star certification by the Green Building Council of Australia, as well as a 5.5-Star National Australian Built Environment Rating System (NABERS) energy rating.

Founded by Green Building Council of Australia in 2003, Green Star is an internationally recognised rating system.

At 244 metres, Chifley Tower was the tallest building in Sydney from 1992 to 2019, before being surpassed by Crown Sydney (271 metres) in 2020 and the Salesforce Tower (263 metres) in 2022. The building was originally named Bond Tower, after disgraced English-born Australian businessman Alan Bond. After Bond's bankruptcy in 1992, the building was acquired by Kumagai Gumi, and in 1993 was renamed Chifley Tower.

As a long-term investor, sustainability is integral to GIC’s mandate and continues to be a key priority for GIC, reads a June 22 press release. “This green loan is consistent with GIC’s belief that assets with strong sustainability practices offer prospects of better risk-adjusted returns over the long term, and that this relationship will strengthen over time as market externalities are priced in.”

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In 2021, DBS committed $20.5 billion in sustainable financing transactions, taking the bank’s cumulative efforts to $39.4 billion, or close to 80% of the bank’s $50 billion sustainable financing target by 2024.

DBS says the green loan is part of its broader efforts to provide corporates with more sustainable financing solutions as they transition their operations and portfolios towards a low-carbon future.

Ang Teck Wee, head of government-linked corporations, institutional banking, DBS, says: “GIC and DBS share a common purpose of realising a more sustainable tomorrow for future generations. We believe that sustainable financing solutions are an important enabler in helping our clients transition towards lower-carbon business models, and GIC’s green loan will set a positive example for other long-term investors and asset managers to make similar moves to green their portfolios.”

Chew Chong Lim, head of real estate, institutional banking, DBS, said, “We are pleased to leverage the strength of our franchise and global networks to break new ground in Australia with one of the largest green loans to be extended by a Singapore lender, as well as the bank’s first AUD-denominated green loan. Australia is ranked by the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark as one of the greenest real estate markets in the world, and we see a lot of promise for DBS to support property players looking to raise sustainable financing to fund their continued investment in Australia.”

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