DBS grows its sustainable financing footprint with maiden green loans in India totalling over INR 10.5 billion

Both green loans are also the first to be issued in India by a Singapore bank

The two green loans issued to CapitaLand were:

• A three-year INR 4.25 billion (SGD 80.8 million) loan to refinance construction financing for the development of Phase 1 of International Tech Park Gurgaon (ITPG) and other general corporate purposes related to the project. Located in Gurgaon, ITPG is an 8 million square feet superior business space to be developed in phases. Phase 1, offering 1 million square feet, is already operational catering to leading IT organisations. Phase 2, currently under development, will offer 700,000 square feet of net leasable area and is targeted for completion in 1Q 2022. ITPG has obtained a pre-certified Platinum rating under the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building rating system administered by the US Green Building Council; and 

• A four-and-a-half-year INR 6.25 billion (SGD 118.8 million) loan to finance construction costs for Phase 1 of International Tech Park Chennai, Radial Road (ITPC-RR). Located along Chennai’s IT corridor, ITPC-Radial Road has 4.6 million square feet of development potential for premium Grade A office space to cater to 45,000 professionals. The IT park’s first phase will comprise two buildings, offering a net leasable area of 1.25 million square feet for IT and IT-enabled services companies. The first and second blocks will be operational by 4Q 2022 and 2Q 2024 respectively. ITPC-RR has obtained a pre-certified Platinum rating as assessed by the Indian Green Building Council.

DBS Group Head of Institutional Banking Tan Su Shan said that since 2018, DBS has concluded over 100 sustainable financing deals worth about SGD 15 billion, with India being a promising market with ample opportunities to go green. Across Asia, DBS has been tapping its experience in structuring landmark sustainable financing deals to help forward-looking companies, such as CapitaLand, incorporate sustainable practices into their business strategy. “We see immense potential for growth in Asia’s sustainable financing market as companies look to furthering their sustainability agenda through responsible financing practices. In becoming the first Singapore bank to finance green loans in India, we are also establishing Singapore as a regional sustainable financing hub with the expertise and experience to forge meaningful partnerships for a more sustainable Asia.”

Commenting on the announcement, Niraj Mittal, Managing Director and Country Head- Institutional Banking Group, DBS Bank India said, “The country presents a significant opportunity in the sustainable financing space and we will continue to partner with high-impact businesses to propel development while contributing towards environmental resilience. Financing projects such as CapitaLand’s Tech Parks in India enables us to deliver economic value in line with our responsible banking ethos.”

Vinamra Srivastava, CEO, Business Parks, CapitaLand India, said: “CapitaLand places sustainability at the core of what we do. We are thankful to a like-minded partner DBS for supporting our sustainability journey to develop greener buildings while continuing to contribute to the environmental and social well-being of our communities. At CapitaLand, we integrate sustainability into every stage of our real estate life cycle, from investment to design, development and operations, garnering international recognition for our efforts in greening our business parks. The securing of our first green loans in India demonstrates CapitaLand’s commitment to growing our business in a responsible manner as we create long-term value for our stakeholders.”

To drive further progress in Asia’s sustainable financing landscape, DBS advocates scaling up transition finance and supporting clients in adopting incremental and instrumental solutions – all of which are necessary to broaden and deepen the market. The World Economic Forum estimates that there is a USD 2.5 trillion annual financing gap that stands in the way of the international community achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.^[1]

DBS continues to be ranked first in Bloomberg’s Asia (ex-Japan) League Table for Green Loans as at the end of October 2020 for its role as Mandated Leader Arranger. This speaks to DBS’ industry-leading role in supporting companies in advancing corporate sustainability.

India is fast emerging as a major centre for sustainable financing. Latest available figures by the Climate Bonds Initiative puts the total value of green bonds issued in India at USD 7.2 billion as at the end of November 2018, placing India as the world’s second-largest emerging green bonds market.^[2]

^[1] World Economic Forum, January 2020,

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/unlocking-sdg-financing-decade-delivery/

^[2] London School of Economics and Political Science, June 2020, https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/news/what-next-for-sustainable-finance-in-india/