Syngenta seeks US$3 billion ESG loan, Asia’s biggest this year

AGROCHEMICALS giant Syngenta Group is seeking a US$3 billion sustainability-linked loan, in what would be Asia’s largest US dollar facility linked to environmental, social and governance-related metrics so far this year.

The Sinochem-owned company has mandated Agriculture Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China and DBS Bank on the loan, said the people, asking not to be identified as the matter is not public. The borrowing is split into three- and five-year tranches, the people added.

Sustainability-linked loans are making a comeback in Asia after volumes dropped last year. Companies in the region keen to boost its decarbonisation efforts have raised US$46 billion-equivalent of such facilities so far this year, a 28 per cent jump from the same period in 2023, Bloomberg-compiled data shows.

Calls to a Singapore-based media representative for Syngenta went unanswered and the company did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Proceeds raised will partially refinance a US$4.5 billion three-year sustainability-linked loan from 2022, the people said. The previous financing was among the largest facilities linked to ESG metrics from Asia at that time.

The new loan carries an unspecified greenshoe option, said one of the people, which allows the size to increase beyond US$3 billion depending on market demand. The three- and five-year tranches pay top-level all-in fees of around 1.05 per cent and 1.2 per cent respectively over the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, the risk-free benchmark rate for US dollar deals, the same person added. BLOOMBERG