DBS Flexes Green Finance Muscles

Tom Burroughes

25 February 2020

Singapore-based broadcast its "green" financial credentials yesterday, announcing that it has inked a €500 million guarantee issuance facility with Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, which makes wind turbines.

Siemens Gamesa will issue guarantees to support its supply of equipment and services for wind projects across the world.

Supporting this type of business fits with DBS's commitment to supporting sustainable development and renewable energy, the bank said in a statement yesterday.

Siemens Gamesa is responsible for more than 100 gigawatts of installed wind capacity, which cuts carbon dioxide emissions by 264 million tons per year, equivalent to the planting of more than four billion trees, it said.

DBS said that it has provided more than S$3.0 billion in financing and advisory services to the renewable energy sector across nine markets in Asia over the past two years. In 2019, DBS closed about S$5 billion in sustainable finance transactions comprising green loans, sustainability performance-linked loans and renewable energy financing. For example, it was involved in signing Taiwan’s first sustainability-linked loan with AU Optronics and was made lead arranger for financing three offshore wind farms in Taiwan worth S$8.5 billion equivalent.

For a broader look at "green bonds" see here. Appetite for green bonds has been growing at a clip for several years as investors and issuers have stepped up their sustainable investment approaches. Currently, the market stands at around $600 billion globally.