Bangokok-based bulker operator Precious Shipping has received a sustainability-linked financing package worth $85m from the World Bank’s International Finance Corp (IFC).
The move allows Precious to join the growing ranks of shipowners that have taken advantage of green loans offered by financial institutions keen to lend cash to companies that want to boost the sustainability of the shipping industry.
Precious said the proceeds of the loan will be used to finance four specialised cement carriers and one bulk carrier owned and operated by wholly owned subsidiaries.
The loan will also "enhance the sustainable transportation of cement along the west coast of India and Sri Lanka, and other critical dry commodities globally", the company said.
The $85m financing package includes an IFC A loan of $55m, a parallel loan of $15m from Export-Import Bank of Thailand, and an IFC B loan of $15m from TMBThanachart Bank.
Sustainability targets are linked to the sustainable development goals related to reducing onshore-sourced freshwater usage and consumption on board the company’s vessels.
“IFC’s support in structuring Precious’s first sustainability-linked financing enhances our efforts to integrate sustainability into our mainstream operations,” said Precious managing director Khalid Hashim.
“With this financing, Precious has completed the process of augmenting its balance sheet and is now on a very strong footing to capture opportunities that the robust, dry cargo market may present.”
Vikram Kumar, IFC's new business manager for infrastructure and natural resources in the Asia Pacific region, said the bank’s investment would encourage cost-efficient and environmentally friendly modes of freight transportation to support a green and resilient revival in the region.
“Strengthening maritime logistics and freight, in particular the coastal shipping infrastructure, is critical for both India and Thailand to improve their competitiveness and participate fully in global and regional trade,” said Kumar.
“As India focuses on an infrastructure-led recovery from the impacts of the pandemic, it is important that supply chains maintain an undisrupted flow of goods.”
IFC is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets, an investing $22bn in private companies and financial institutions during its 2020 fiscal year.
