Standard Chartered has agreed a syndicated bank guarantee totalling more than US$300mn with Envision Group, which it says is a milestone for sustainable trade.
The deal is the “world’s first” deal that has been verified by an external party as aligned with the International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) sustainable trade principles, the bank says.
It comes several months after Standard Chartered became the first international bank to align its trade practices with the ICC’s principles, first published in October 2024.
Envision, a Shanghai-headquartered green technology firm, will use the guarantee to support its supply of wind power equipment to overseas markets.
Standard Chartered was the mandated lead arranger, structuring bank, agent bank and sole green facility coordinator. It did not name the other participating lenders.
The deal received a second-party opinion from Lianhe Equator, a Hong Kong-based green finance certification firm, to certify its compliance with the ICC’s principles and the Loan Market Authority’s green loan principles.
The ICC’s principles for sustainable trade and trade finance aim to standardise how sustainable trade finance is assessed, verified and reported.
They are divided into three product areas: green trade finance, sustainability-linked loans and sustainability-linked supply chain finance.
While several banks have endorsed the ICC’s framework for sustainable trade, as yet only Standard Chartered has explicitly said it will adopt the principles in its business practices.
Jean Lu, chief executive of Standard Chartered China and executive vice chair of the bank’s China board, says the transaction “reflects our commitment to supporting the development of renewable energy, and underscores our expertise across sustainable cross-border trade”.
“We will continue to act in line with the ICC principles, to scale sustainable trade finance solutions for our clients and across our markets,” she says.
Zhou Hongwen, founding partner and executive director of Envision Energy, says the deal has seen the firm work with more than ten financial institutions from across the world.
“We’re expanding our renewable energy business in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Latin America and other regions,” he says.
“The widespread support and recognition of global financial institutions will help us promote our strategic layout of green and low-carbon transformation, accelerating the realisation of global green prosperity.”
Liu Jingyun, executive president and general manager of Lianhe Equator’s green finance business department, adds that the certification provider hopes to “leverage our expertise in sustainable financing, energy conservation and environmental protection, carbon certification and consulting” to promote the development of sustainable finance.
In November last year, the ICC extended its guidelines on sustainable trade to include all sectors, after beginning with the apparel and clothing sectors in 2022 and then incorporating the energy, automotive and agriculture sectors.
