Leading international law firm Clifford Chance has advised ANZ and DBS Bank as joint lead managers on the issuance of Surbana Jurong Group’s S$250 million bond offering under its US$1 billion multicurrency debt issuance programme. The bond, due 2031, is the first Singapore dollar-denominated sustainability-linked bond and the first public sustainability-linked bond issuance by a Southeast Asia-based company.
The transaction represents first Asian sustainability-linked bond to feature a premium step-up at maturity. If certain sustainability goals are not met, Surbana Jurong Group will pay investors a premium payment of 0.75 per cent of the redemption amount at maturity.
Lead partner Gareth Deiner offered, “We’re honoured to advise our clients ANZ and DBS Bank and to have played a part in this innovative pioneering transaction, which is the first public sustainability-linked issuance from a Southeast Asian-based company and a first in the Singapore dollar fixed income market. Sustainability-linked bonds provide potential issuers with a flexible financing instrument, and the enthusiastic reception for this offering from the ESG investor community could present a variety of options for companies with ambitious ESG targets, over-and-above the usual use-of-proceeds instruments we have seen up to now.”
Gareth was supported by counsel Ying Chiang Chong and senior associate Claire Neo who advised across English and Singapore law.
Clifford Chance regularly advises on first-to-market sustainability-linked, green and ESG-focused debt capital markets transactions in the region, including the first US dollar sustainability-linked bond in Asia (ex-Japan), the first investment grade green project bond from the private sector in Indonesia, the first sovereign green sukuk for the Republic of Indonesia and the first US dollar Corporate Green Bond benchmark offering from a Singapore-headquartered company.
