Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) has secured its first green loan. The telco, through its data centre subsidiaries DCW Pte Ltd and DCKC Pte Ltd, secured a $535 million five-year green loan. The loan was provided by DBS, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC), Standard Chartered Bank and United Overseas Bank U11 (UOB). The banks have also been appointed as green loan coordinators.
The proceeds will be used to refinance the borrowings and support the operations of DC West and DC Kim Chuan. Both data centres must maintain at least a Green Mark GoldPlus certification from Singapore’s Building and Construction Authority (BCA) as part of the green loan criteria. Both DC West and DC Kim Chuan have already attained the highest green building certification, Green Mark Platinum.
“Singtel is committed to aligning our borrowings with our environmental objectives, and we are pleased to work with DBS, OCBC, Standard Chartered Bank and UOB to invest in a more sustainable future for everyone,” says group chief financial officer (CFO) Arthur Lang.
“We will build on the success of our sustainability-linked loans, bonds and other efforts, to further expand our portfolio of green financing initiatives under Olives, Singtel Group’s sustainable financing programme. We will also continue exploring ways to incorporate technologies such as liquid cooling and AI to further improve the efficiency of all our data centres, including our upcoming DC Tuas,” he adds.
Shares in Singtel closed at $2.30 on Dec 1.
