HSBC and Temasek announced a partnership to establish a US$150 million debt financing platform dedicated to sustainable infrastructure projects with an initial focus on Southeast Asia, as part of efforts to reduce climate change.
In a joint statement, both entities said that they seek to build a pipeline of projects to scale, with the platform dispensing over US$1 billion of loans within 5 years.
A meaningful portion of the platform’s loan portfolio will target marginally bankable, sustainable infrastructure projects, providing project development expertise, technical assistance and blended finance solutions where needed.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Clifford Capital Holdings (CCH) will support the platform as strategic partners.
ADB will provide various forms of assistance to the platform, including technical assistance and project development expertise, while CCH will provide its project finance expertise as well as ongoing operational mid and back office support to the platform.
The platform will apply internationally recognised ESG best practices and will measure sustainability outcomes through the loans provided.
Additionally, it will target renewable energy and storage, water and waste treatment and sustainable transport to help meet carbon reduction targets and build resilience to offset the impact of climate change.
Noel Quinn, Group Chief Executive of HSBC said,
“Neither private nor public sector can close the financing gap alone – but by working with Temasek, the Asian Development Bank and Clifford Capital, we can deploy significant amounts of blended finance for projects in Southeast Asia that would otherwise go unfunded.
Collaborations matter in the fight against climate change, and this partnership provides an impactful model for others to follow.”
Dilhan Pillay, Chief Executive Officer of Temasek International added,
“Public funding alone will not cover the scale of climate change mitigation and transition required across Southeast Asia. By joining forces, we can catalyse our capital, multiplying impact and scaling to meet the opportunities.
Partnerships like this demonstrate Temasek’s commitment to a spectrum of sustainable solutions, and highlight the urgency of action required to get us all to net zero.”
