The issuance of the Green Capital Securities also achieves the milestone of being the first issuance of a green AT1 bond by a bank in Malaysia
PVTIME – Hong Leong Bank (“HLB” or “the Bank”), today announced the issuance of its first Green Additional Tier 1 (“AT1”) Capital Securities (“Green Capital Securities”) amounting to RM900 million in nominal value, issued under HLB’s existing multi-currency Basel-III compliant AT1 capital securities programme of up to RM10.0 billion (or its equivalent in other currencies) in nominal value (“AT1 Programme”). The issuance of the Green Capital Securities also achieves the milestone of being the first issuance of a green AT1 bond by a bank in Malaysia.
In addition to fulfilling the Bank’s AT1 capital requirements, HLB’s inaugural issuance of Green Capital Securities is to raise funds for the purpose of financing or refinancing new or existing green assets, projects or companies that meet the eligibility criteria outlined in HLB’s Green Bond Framework (the “Framework”).
Domenic Fuda, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of HLB shared that the issuance of the Green Capital Securities is an important enabler in supporting the Bank’s efforts to spur greater market adoption of sustainable growth through environmental, social and governance (ESG) complying financing.
“This issuance cements our commitment to green financing and forms part of our sustainable funding strategy, which allows us to help shape and support the transition to a green and low-carbon economy. With clear eligibility considerations outlined in the Framework, this is a significant step forward in increasing lending to businesses and individual customers that want to invest in eco-friendly initiatives. We hope that this can help unlock the financing needed for climate-friendly projects and support Malaysia’s transition to a greener economy,” said Fuda.
Established in accordance with the transparency and disclosure requirements of the ASEAN Green Bond Standards and the globally recognised Green Bond Principles issued by the International Capital Market Association, the Framework has been reviewed by RAM Sustainability Sdn Bhd, which has assigned Environmental Benefit (“EB”) ratings to eligible assets or projects under the framework, including the highest EB rating of Tier-1 for assets/projects involving renewable energy (solar, wind and hydropower), energy efficiency, green building and electric vehicles.
The Green Capital Securities, which are perpetual and non-callable for 5 years, was priced at a spread of 72.2 basis points above the 5-year Malaysian Government Securities (MGS) with a distribution rate of 4.45% p.a. for the first 5 years. The Green Capital Securities are rated A1 by RAM Rating Services Berhad.
