CR Land Applies for Two ESG Loans Worth HKD 2.7 Billion for the First Time
On December 7, CR Land applied for ESG loans of HK$ 1.5 billion and RMB 1 billion (approximately HK$ 1.2 billion) in China Construction Bank Corporation Hong Kong Branch and DBS Bank Limited Hong Kong Branch respectively.
As the business unit responsible for city construction and operation under China Resources Group, a Fortune Global 500 company, CR Land, attaching great importance to ESG work, has established a sound ESG management structure. In 2020, CR Land compiled the first ESG Management Manual in the industry according to the ESG Guidelines of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and based on its own business situations. With this manual, it establishes and improves the ESG management structure and workflow, and clarifies the indicators and interpretation, reporting and auditing, assessment and evaluation of ESG information, filling the gap in standards for quantitative statistics of ESG information in the real estate industry.
In 2021, CR Land actively responded to the national "30·60 Strategy", set up a cross-departmental special working group, actively carried out research on carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. It also formulated work plans, explored its implementation path of 30·60 strategy, and therefore made positive progress in green buildings, prefabricated housing, energy management and green financing. In the first half of 2021, the company's comprehensive energy consumption per RMB 1 million of operating revenue decreased by 22.1% year-on-year, and its green building certification area was 5.9 million m2, registering a total of over 50 million m2; besides, 4 projects under its umbrella, including Technical Officials Village for Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games, obtained three-star certification for green buildings.
The ESG work of CR Land has been widely recognized by all sectors of society. In 2021, CR Land was selected as a constituent stock of Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability Index (30 companies in total) and a constituent stock of Hang Seng ESG 50 Index. In addition, it was upgraded to BBB in the MSCI Global Sustainability Index Rating, awarded a four-star rating by Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) for five consecutive years, and ranked No. 1 in the CSR Development Index of Real Estate Industry of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences for eight consecutive years.
Guo Shiqing, CFO and Assistant President of CR Land, said that this successful application for ESG loan showed the recognition of CR Land's ESG work by financial institutions. He also indicated that in the future, CR Land would continue to improve its ESG management level, and actively work with domestic and foreign financial institutions to jointly promote the realization of the China’s carbon peak and carbon neutrality goal.