DBSDY DBS Group Holdings Ltd (PK)

   By Fabiana Negrin Ochoa 
 

DBS Bank has turned its 500 million euro ($542.4 million) guarantee facility with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA into a green facility amid growing demand for sustainable financing in Asia.

Siemens Gamesa can now issue green guarantees to support the supply of equipment and services for wind-energy projects globally under the revamped facility, promoting its supply-chain sustainability, the Singapore lender said Monday.

Singapore banks seem to be increasingly focused on the environment, with the three major lenders--DBS Group Holdings Ltd., United Overseas Bank Ltd. and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp.--saying last year that they will stop financing coal-power projects.

DBS closed about 5 billion Singapore dollars (US$3.58 billion) in sustainable finance transactions in 2019, including Taiwan's first sustainability-linked loan with display maker AU Optronics Corp. and Singapore's first sustainability-linked loan with a small and medium-size enterprise--egg producer Chew's Agriculture.

The lender has provided more than S$3 billion in financing and advisory services to the renewable-energy sector in nine Asia-Pacific markets over the past two years.

UOB in October started a solar-industry ecosystem to support the development and adoption of solar technology in Southeast Asia. Through U-Solar, the lender offers a suite of financial solutions to support the entire value chain, from producers to end users.

OCBC doubled down on its sustainability push last year, topping the Bloomberg 2019 Mandated Lead Arranger league table for green and renewable-energy loans. The bank also took first place in the 2019 MLA league table for green loans and sustainability-linked loans compiled by intelligence service Debtwire. Both are for the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan.

DBS placed second on Bloomberg's MLA list and sixth on the Debtwire ranking.

DBS's head of Western multinationals, Terence Yong, said Monday that with demand for renewable-energy financing growing in Asia, partnering with clients such as Siemens Gamesa is important, enabling the bank to "contribute to a positive change, advance the SDGs [United Nations Sustainable Development Goals] and generate long-term value for the community."

Siemens Gamesa had EUR1.72 billion in green guarantee lines by the end of 2019, according to its website. The Spain-based manufacturer of onshore and offshore wind turbines aims to be carbon neutral by 2025. It has more than 100 gigawatts of installed wind capacity that it says contributes to cutting 264 million tons of CO2 emissions a year--equivalent to planting more than 4 billion trees.

Write to Fabiana Negrin Ochoa at fabiana.negrinochoa@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 24, 2020 06:32 ET (11:32 GMT)

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