KUALA LUMPUR: HSBC Amanah Malaysia Bhd has launched its first Islamic Green Trade Finance proposition with a Green Bank Guarantee for Cenergi SEA Sdn Bhd (Cenergi).
Cenergi, a subsidiary of Khazanah Nasional Bhd based in Malaysia, is actively growing its investment portfolio in various renewable energy sources in line with its strategic priorities to integrate ESG across its investment and operational activities.
HSBC Malaysia chief executive officer Stuart Miln said the bank's green trade finance proposition could help Cenergi facilitate the integration of sustainable products and solutions into their business operations to enable long-term growth and, more importantly, reduce climate impact.
Miln said there is a growing appetite for sustainable and green-focused offerings in the market, and the bank is pleased to have launched its green trade finance proposition with Cenergi.
"HSBC Amanah is committed to transforming into HSBC Group's first sustainable bank that offers industry-leading sustainable product offerings.
"The launch of the Green Trade Finance proposition reflects this as well as our broader commitment to financing projects that benefit communities and the environment in line with Bank Negara Malaysia's value-based intermediation (VBI) initiative and more broadly supports Malaysia's climate ambition," he said.
Meanwhile, Cenergi group chief executive officer Hairol Azizi Tajudin said the company is excited to embark on this partnership with HSBC Amanah to accelerate its solar and energy efficiency business segment towards its next growth chapter in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.
"More strategic collaboration with financial institutions, such as HSBC Malaysia, will drive an impactful change in the local sustainable energy industry towards achieving Malaysia's aspiration of having 31 per cent renewable energy generation capacity by 2025," said Hairol.
According to HSBC Amanah, the Islamic Green Trade Finance proposition, which includes Islamic trade finance products such as the Islamic documentary credit, bank guarantee and clean import financing - adheres to the HSBC Sustainable Trade Instrument Principles1 and the Green Loan Principles2.
Both principles promote the integrity and transparency of green trade finance products by setting the standard for 'green', it said.
"HSBC's trade facility will support Cenergi's solar and energy efficiency projects that will contribute to their vision of building a sustainable business.
"This will also support the government's efforts in combating climate change in line with Malaysia's Shared Prosperity Vision 2030," it said.
Cenergi has generated and exported a total of 231 kilowatts per hour (GWh) of renewable energy to the national grid.
It has also avoided over 1,200,000 tonnes of carbon emission, which translates to approximate emission from 209,000 vehicles on the road for a year, or over 110,000 household energy consumption for a year.