ComfortDelGro Gets OCBC Green Loan

The transport operator becomes the first Singapore land transport company to adopt a green loan, which will be used to finance its hybrid bus fleet in Melbourne, Australia. Singapore land transport operator ComfortDelGro’s Australia subsidiary has received a A$25 million ($17.2 million) green loan from OCBC Bank, a joint statement on Tuesday announced.

The loan was structured in accordance with the Green Loan Principles issued in 2018 by the Loan Market Association and Asia Pacific Loan Market Association. It will be used to purchase 50 hybrid buses that use 30 percent less fuel and emit significantly less noise when idling.

As an environment-conscious transport company, sustainability considerations are indeed at the core of our business strategy, and this green financing is a natural fit for us, Yang Ban Seng, managing director and Group CEO of ComfortDelGro, said in the statement.

The ComfortDelGro was added to the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific Index (DJSI Asia Pacific), which serves as a benchmark for investors who integrate sustainability considerations into their portfolios, in September 2019.

OCBC said the green loan is an important step towards its goal of building a S$10 billion ($7.42 billion) sustainable finance portfolio by 2022.

«We hope this green loan by ComfortDelGro sends a positive message to encourage peer industry players to take steps to support sustainable urban development through green financing options,» Elaine Lam, OCBC’s head of Global Corporate Banking, said.