COFCO entered into USD 2.1 bln credit facility

COFCO International signed an agreement with a consortium of 20 banks for a USD 2.1 billion sustainability-linked loan as the company’s core financing facility.

It is the largest sustainability-linked loan for a commodity trader, the company notes. The facility’s margins are linked to the company’s sustainability performance. 

Targets include:

• Year-on-year improvement of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) performance, assessed by Sustainalytics, a leading provider of ESG research and ratings, and;
• Increasing traceability of agri-commodities, with a focus on directly sourced soy in Brazil, assessed by an independent inspector annually.

"Traceability to origin is a prerequisite to building more sustainable supply chains. This is in line with COFCO International’s ambition to meet the world’s increasing demand for food in a responsible way. If the company meets the agreed targets, the related margin savings will be invested to further improve performance across sustainable supply, health and safety, environment, communities and upholding standards," the company says in a stament.

Jing Wu, CFO at COFCO International, stresses that the company is proud to have built this sustainable financing partnership with many of the largest international and Chinese banks and will further leverage these relationships and together develop new innovative financing to incentivise sustainable agriculture.

NOTE: In 2017/18, COFCO exported more than 3 million tons of agricultural and processed products from Ukraine