COFCO International announced completing its USD 2.3 billion senior unsecured sustainability-linked facilities. This is the largest sustainability-linked loan for a commodity trader.
Following the initial close of a USD 2.1 billion facility, the company further increased the facilities to USD 2.3 billion, with 21 international banks now participating.
The facilities were launched on 21 May 2019 and gained strong support from the company’s relationship banks. The facilities were significantly oversubscribed and subsequently increased to USD 2.3 billion, with COFCO International choosing to scale back lender commitments.
ABN AMRO Bank N.V, Agricultural Bank of China, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A., China Construction Bank, China Development Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited, ING Bank N.V, Natixis and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited acted as senior bookrunning mandated lead arrangers.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Crédit Agricole, Rabobank and Westpac joined as bookrunning mandated lead arrangers.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, DBS Bank Ltd, HSBC, MUFG Bank, Ltd., Société Générale, Standard Chartered Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation joined as mandated lead arrangers.
ABN AMRO Bank N.V. acted as coordinator and documentation agent with ING Bank N.V., Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A., and Rabobank acting as sustainability coordinators.
The facilities comprise a 1-year revolving credit facility, a 3-year revolving credit facility and a 3-year term loan facility. It is based on
The facilities’ margins are linked to the company’s sustainability performance. Targets include:
- Year-on-year improvement of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) performance, assessed by Sustainalytics, a leading provider of ESG research and ratings, and;
- Increasing traceability of agri-commodities, with a focus on directly sourced soy in Brazil, assessed by an independent inspector annually.
If the Company meets the agreed targets, the related margin savings will be invested to further improve performance across sustainable supply, health and safety, environment, communities and upholding standards.
