KUALA LUMPUR: Axiata Group Bhd has raised US$800 million of first-of-its-kind Islamic financing from a group of banks led by OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd's Islamic arm OCBC Al-Amin Bank Bhd.
ThIs marked a monumental milestone for Axiata as it was one of the largest syndicated financing transactions undertaken in the midst of the current unprecedented pandemic crisis, OCBC Al-Amin said today.
This was also the first sustainability-linked Islamic financing effort undertaken in Malaysia, thr bank added.
"It is made more significant by the signing ceremony being undertaken via a web-based platform to observe social distancing rules pursuant to the Movement Control Order put in place by the government to break the chain of the Covid-19 pandemic," it added.
OCBC Al-Amin said the combination of Islamic financing principles coupled with sustainability financing parameters and the multi-currency financing feature of the syndicated financing had broken new ground in both the local and international financing markets.
"The successful financial close of the syndicated financing demonstrates the strong support and confidence of the banking fraternity toward Axiata's long-term business sustainability and direction.
"The OCBC group has been one of the main advocates of green and sustainable financing in the region and has been able to leverage on Malaysia's leading Islamic capabilities by embedding the sustainability linked features in line with Axiata's sustainability framework which is consistent with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, to ensure an optimal financing package for Axiata," it said.
OCBC Bank managing director and head of investment banking Tan Ai Chin said the financing was significant affirmation of its long-standing collaborative partnership with Axiata.
Tan said the incorporation of the sustainability-linked features into the financing which included Axiata's commitment to reduce carbon footprint emission, was testament to both organisations' pledges towards ensuring sustainability remains at the core of our business principles.
"The sustainability-linked financing facility is the OCBC group's latest significant milestone in its effort to achieve a S$10 billion sustainable finance portfolio by 2022," she added.
OCBC group closed out 2019 by topping two significant sustainable finance league tables.
They were Bloomberg's 2019 Mandated Lead Arranger (MLA) league table for green loans and renewable energy loans, and 2019 MLA league table for green loans and sustainability-linked loans by intelligence service Debtwire.
Both league tables were for Asia Pacific, excluding Japan, she said.