24 October 2017 12:13 am Views - 1047
Pan Asia Bank and the Global Climate Partnership Fund (GCPF) have closed a new US$13 million facility agreement.
This funding which comes in the form of a seven year senior unsecured loan brings the total funding arrangement between the two parties to US$33 million, which will be utilized to promote green lending initiatives in Sri Lanka.
GCPF has been a partner of Pan Asia Bank in its efforts on mitigating climate change since 2013.
GCPF is an investment fund that provides financing for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects across frontier and emerging economies and is set up as a public-private partnership. The German Federal Ministry for Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety, KfW, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark and IFC are among the investors of GCPF.
With GCPF as a partner, Pan Asia Bank has played a pioneering role in introducing green lending initiatives to Sri Lanka. Green lending is a sector of immense importance that supports the growth in Sri Lanka in a socially responsible manner.
Under the agreement with GCPF, Pan Asia Bank will also continue to benefit from a comprehensive Technical Assistance programme, which will enable the bank to strengthen its green lending portfolio of economically viable and climate friendly projects. One of the key initiatives under the Technical Assistance programme is the introduction of a Social and Environmental Management System in the bank, which is in the deployment stage. This initiative makes Pan Asia Bank one of the few banks in Sri Lanka complying with such high standards in responsible lending.
Pan Asia Bank is confident that this funding will create a perfect opportunity to generate long term sustainable economic benefits to uplift the living standards of people by creating cost-efficient energy solutions for businesses and employment, while also preserving our environment.
In addition to contributing towards limiting global warming, this initiative will also result in creating strategic economic benefits to the country as development of renewable energy sources reduce Sri Lanka’s dependency on imported oil. Inline with the government push for renewable energy Pan Asia Bank is committed towards the success of such projects such as ‘Suriya Bala Sangramaya’ as one of the pioneers of introducing solar loans to Sri Lanka.
This commitment to green financing and sustainability is taken very seriously at Pan Asia Bank, where a new department named ‘International Relations and Sustainability’ has been created solely to facilitate investments towards green initiatives as well as to implement sustainability initiatives both within and outside the banks operations.
Commenting on this opportunity, Pan Asia Bank Director/CEO Nimal Tillekeratne highlighted that the GCPF facility seamlessly fits with the business strategy of Pan Asia Bank. “The fact that this loan was offered as a seven year senior unsecured loan is a strong indicator of the confidence and trust GCPF has in Sri Lanka and especially in Pan Asia Bank and its growth prospects,” he explained. He also stated that due to the successful track record of Pan Asia Bank in promoting green initiatives in Sri Lanka, several foreign funds have indicated their interest to fund similar initiatives through the bank.
Speaking on behalf of the Global Climate Partnership Fund, Board Chairperson Claudia Arce said: “We are pleased to continue our very successful partnership with Pan Asia Bank in Sri Lanka. Pan Asia Bank has been acting as a catalyst in encouraging the transition of Sri Lanka to a greener economy – which is exactly what the Global Climate Partnership Fund aims to achieve through its funding activities.”