The Chinese firm Vinda Household Paper became the first company in Asia to draw upon Standard Chartered $1 billion financing program designed to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Vinda is borrowing $23 million to increase its capacity to produce protective face masks for personal use.
Vinda began expanding its capacity to produce face masks in its manufacturing sites at Zhejiang and Guangdong one month after the outbreak. The company can currently produce up to seven million units per month.
Standard Chartered launched its financing program non-profit companies producing products and services for the fight against COVID-19 on March 30th.
“Our priority is to help get the right products and services to the front line, and this facility is the first in Asia,” said CEO of Corporate & Institutional Banking Simon Cooper.
Vinda is a tissue and personal care brand manufacturer majority-owned by the Swedish company Essity. It possesses a track record of working in sustainability, as it sources its raw paper material primarily from certified sources or otherwise known as responsible. It was alos the first FMCG company in Hong Kong to secure a green loan in accordance with the “Green Finance Pre-Issuance Stage Certificate.”
“As a leading hygiene product company in Asia, Vinda has been doing its best to protect the environment and fulfil its corporate social responsibility,” said Vinda CEO Christoph Michalski. “We spare no efforts in pursuing sustainable development. To cope with the threat of the epidemic, Vinda does its utmost to meet the needs of all sectors of society for hygiene products and epidemic prevention products.”
