Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC) and Charge+, an operator and provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions, have entered into a strategic partnership in a bid to “green” Singapore’s land transport sector.
The move also contributes to the bank’s ambition of building a $25 billion sustainable finance portfolio by 2025, a target that was announced in June 2020.
Both companies, on Feb 15, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will boost Charge+’s plans of installing 10,000 EV charging points around the island by 2030, thereby contributing to the government’s revised target of having 60,000 EV charging points by 2030.
Under the MOU, OCBC Bank will encourage its customers in property development to install charging points at their premises, to support Charge+’s goal.
Both parties also plan to develop incentives to encourage OCBC Bank’s customers to purchase electric vehicles and charge them at Charge+’s charging points.
SEE: Why OCBC's scrip dividend leads to a virtuous circle despite regulatory cut
See also: JPMorgan pursues deals to finance shutdown of coal-fired power
In addition, OCBC Bank will implement digital payment solutions for the charging service.
“We are delighted to collaborate with OCBC Bank, a partner that shares our corporate vision to green the mobility sector and catalyse the electric vehicle transition. By harnessing OCBC’s deep expertise in financing solutions, digital payments and real estate, Charge+ will be able to accelerate its roll-out of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, which will be key to spurring electric vehicle adoption in Singapore,” says Ong Tze Boon, chairman of Charge+.
“For electric vehicle adoption to pick up, the supporting charging infrastructure has to be in place and Charge+ has very quickly become a leader in this space. Just having the infrastructure is not good enough. There must be public adoption to enable a clean energy transportation system too. OCBC can therefore play the role as a meaningful financial services enabler in the electric vehicle ecosystem,” says Elaine Lam, head of global corporate banking at OCBC Bank.
See also: Indonesia’s ‘ambitious’ net zero, coal phase-out plans ‘challenging’ in reality: BMI
“This is just the first step for both of us. We are excited to support the broader vision to bring others onboard the ecosystem, including property developers and owners, electric vehicle distributors and manufacturers, and utilities companies. The collaboration with Charge+ also marks our efforts to offer beyond banking solutions through partnerships and co-creating innovative ideas with our corporate clients,” she says.
As at 10.14am, shares in OCBC are trading 8 cents higher or 0.8% up at $10.63.
