Mizuho Bank, Ltd.
Mizuho Bank, Ltd. (President & CEO: Masahiko Kato; hereafter "Mizuho Bank") provided advice and support to Frasers Property Limited (hereafter "Frasers Property")¹ as the joint rating advisor in obtaining its inaugural credit rating from Japan Credit Rating Agency, Ltd. (hereafter "JCR"). JCR has assigned an "AA-" foreign currency long term issuer rating to Frasers Property. In advising Frasers Property, Mizuho Bank utilized its broad range of experience in corporate finance and credit rating advisory to ensure that the overall process went smoothly. This is the first time ever that Mizuho Bank has advised a client in Singapore with regard to a JCR rating assignment. Obtaining such ratings are becoming popular for companies looking to raise JPY funding, as well as addressing recent banking regulatory developments such as Basel III.
Furthermore, Mizuho Bank has been appointed as one of the mandated lead arrangers and bookrunners ("MLABs") for the sustainability-linked² cross-border³ syndicated loan for Frasers Property, and has signed a facility agreement with joint and several borrowers, Frasers Property Industrial Australia Pty Ltd (hereafter "FPIA") and Frasers Property Treasury Pte Ltd (hereafter "FPT").
Frasers Property has been at the forefront in its sustainability efforts, prioritizing green certification for its owned and managed properties as well as obtaining internationally recognized sustainability benchmark ratings for entities within the group. Frasers Property has also set ambitious goals to carry out climate risk assessments and implement asset-level climate adaptation and mitigation plans by 2024, and to be a net zero carbon corporation by 2050.
In this sustainability-linked cross-border syndicated loan, FPIA identifies its Sustainability Performance Target (SPT), which is to achieve 5-star rating for its latest Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmarks (GRESB) Report. Mizuho Bank, in its role as joint sustainability coordinator, supported the setting of the SPT for this loan.
At Mizuho, we are working to further incorporate sustainability initiatives into our business strategy. We are drawing on our expertise as a financial services group to proactively provide a wide range of solutions, including advisory and capital financing support, to businesses that are contributing to the shift to a low-carbon society.
Loan overview:
Facility amount: Approximately USD 400M equivalent
Term: 5 years
Notes:
- Frasers Property Limited (Frasers Property): Frasers Property is a multinational investor-developer-manager of real estate products and services across the property value chain, with approximately SGD 40.1 billion in total assets as at 31 March 2023 across five property asset classes. Frasers Property is geographically diversified, operating in Singapore, Australia, United Kingdom, Europe, Thailand, Vietnam and China.
- A financing structure which links preferential terms, such as lower interest rates, to the achievement of ESG goals established in alignment with the borrower's sustainability strategy. By providing incentives for the borrower to achieve these goals, this form of financing aims to promote sustainable economic activities and growth.
- Corporate syndicated loans extended from Japanese banks to non-Japanese or offshore entities and sold mainly to Japanese investors, like in this case, are often called "Ninja loans" or "Samurai loans" in Japan. Mizuho Bank has trademarked the term "Ninja loan" in the United States and other jurisdictions.