Both buildings have been awarded by the Singapore Building and Construction Authority with the Green Mark Platinum Certification since 2013.

United Overseas Bank (UOB) along with DBS Bank and Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) have extended a $945 million green loan to Allianz Real Estate and Gaw Capital Partners to help fund their $1.575 billion acquisition of Duo Tower and Duo Galleria.

A part of a signature mixed-use development project within the Ophir-Rochor precinct, office block Duo Tower has 570,000 sq ft of prime Grade A commercial space, while Duo Galleria features 56,000 sq ft of retail space, reported The Business Times.

Both buildings have been awarded by the Singapore Building and Construction Authority with the Green Mark Platinum Certification since 2013. This is in recognition of their green features such as the rainwater-harvesting system, surrounding green landscape and low-emissivity glass exterior that reduces the amount of heat entering the building, which in turn lowers the energy needed to power the air-conditioning.

The three banks served as the green loan advisers, joint mandated lead arrangers, bookrunners and underwriters to Ophir-Rochor Commercial (ORC), which is the joint venture between Allianz and Hong Kong private equity firm Gaw. UOB was also the syndicated loan’s facility and security agent.

“The real estate sector has been leading the charge in the demand for green financing, with more property owners, managers and financial sponsors upholding sustainability standards as part of their climate action efforts,” said Lim Lay Wah, global head of financial institutions group at UOB.

Chew Chong Lim, managing director and global head of real estate, institutional banking group at DBS, revealed that the bank is encouraged by the “steady traction in green and sustainability-linked loans from the real estate industry”.

StanChart Singapore chief executive Patrick Lee also noted that Singapore is fast becoming a hub for green and sustainable loans, with over US$6 billion (S$8 billion) in loan issuances from 2018 to October 2019.

The syndicated green loan was structured based on the green loan framework of ORC, which is aligned with the Green Loan Principles issued in 2018 by the Loan Market Association.

Source: CommercialGuru, 16 December 2019