Through this SLL, SCC seeks to intensify its efforts to catalyse socio-economic development in Sabah whilst demonstrating its firm commitment towards driving measurable positive impacts in the community.
KUCHING (Jan 20): Sabah Credit Corporation (SCC) has secured an RM100 million sustainability-linked loan (SLL) in the form of a revolving credit facility from CIMB Bank Bhd (CIMB).
This makes SCC the first statutory body from East Malaysia and the first financial institution in Malaysia to have secured a loan that is linked to sustainability performance targets (SPTs).
Through this SLL, SCC seeks to intensify its efforts to catalyse socio-economic development in Sabah whilst demonstrating its firm commitment towards driving measurable positive impacts in the community.
The SLL has been structured around two key performance indicators (KPIs) that are linked to SCC’s sustainability and socio-economic agenda in Sabah, with pre-agreed SPTs linked to each KPI.
The SPTs include the cumulative disbursement of loans or financing to the Bottom 40 per cent (B40) segment, as well as SCC’s contribution in local communities through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) foundation, Yayasan Perbadanan Pinjaman Sabah (YPPS).
CIMB will grant a rebate against the loan interest if SCC achieves these SPTs.
“SCC is pleased to have secured our maiden SLL from CIMB, which we believe will support our mission to improve the accessibility of financing facilities to Sabahans and drive socio-economic growth in Sabah as we give back to the community,” SCC chief executive officer George Taitim Tulas said.
“The SLL has quantifiable targets which would provide greater transparency on our impact within the state, unlocking value for all our stakeholders.
“This is a significant milestone for SCC and demonstrates our readiness to embrace sustainable financing in driving our developmental agenda within Sabah.
“We will also intensify our efforts to strengthen environmental, social and governance (ESG) integration across our business, which we are confident will ultimately help SCC to realise our mandate.”
CIMB Group’s group chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad said that CIMB is pleased to support SCC’s sustainability and socio-economic agenda through its SLL offering.
“As a purpose-driven organisation, this represents our continued focus on incorporating environmental and social considerations into our financing terms, incentivising sustainable practices within the region, thereby creating a win-win-win situation for our business and our clients, as well as people and planet,” Abdul Rahman added.
“We look forward to working with more clients on sustainable or sustainability-linked offerings in our effort to build a more equitable, sustainable and resilient economy.”
In 2021, CIMB Group doubled down on its ambition to become an Asean sustainability leader by committing to achieve RM30 billion in sustainable finance by 2024.
This target includes its SLL offering, for which CIMB’s total SLL issuance has exceeded RM1 billion to date.