Olam’s $500 million club loan shows bankers will back sustainable agriculture
Olam, a Singapore-based world leading food trader, has secured $500m credit linked to a three-year sustainability club loan which is Asia’s first green “club” loan. Under this facility, Olam is required to meet improvement targets for a comprehensive range of environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics to be assessed by Sustainalytics, an ESG and corporate governance research and ratings firm. If Olam hits more than 50 of the targets the interest rates will be lowered. ING is the sustainability co-ordinator and 15 banks are providing the club loan in equal parts.
