OCBC Malaysia, comprising OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Berhad and its Islamic subsidiary OCBC Al-Amin Bank Berhad, is progressively making “double green” its investment banking gold standard, a trend poised to be a mainstay for maintaining its market position as a leading advocate of sustainable finance.

“Double green” is industry parlance for financing that combines sustainability elements with Shariah principles.

OCBC Malaysia Managing Director, Senior Banker & Head of Investment Banking Ms Tan Ai Chin said the Bank has set for itself the benchmark to continue driving innovations and delivering award-winning “double green” investment banking deals each year, having bagged 5 such awards this year alone from the 18 received thus far for investment banking excellence.

“The five double green accolades from The Asset and Euromoney represent amongst the most prestigious in the industry. We are honoured by the recognition which are attributable to our initiatives in structuring holistic and value accretive financing solutions for our valued clients who have entrusted us to be part of their sustainability journey. The inclusion of globally Shariah-compliant financing principles into our sustainable finance offerings also signifies our ongoing efforts in the development of Islamic finance both in Malaysia and beyond,” she said.

OCBC Malaysia clinched two distinguished and notable sustainability-related awards in 2024. They are the Sustainable Infrastructure Award – Malaysia by ESGBusiness Awards (for the second consecutive year) and the Sustainable Energy Financing (Foreign Bank category) at the National Energy Awards (NEA), the Bank’s fourth consecutive win since the category was introduced in 2020. The awards are in recognition of OCBC Malaysia’s commitment to sustainability stewardship, reinforcing its leadership position in Malaysia’s investment banking industry.

Among the significant “double green” awards conferred to OCBC Malaysia is the Best Deals by Country for Most Innovative Islamic Deal at the Triple A Islamic Finance Awards 2024, in recognition of the unique Islamic stapled financing structure for Gamuda Berhad’s US$120 million sustainability-linked term financing and US$120 million sustainability-linked cross-currency profit rate swap-i.

The Islamic Finance Deal of the Year – Malaysia award from Euromoney, in conjunction with the Euromoney Islamic Awards 2024, recognises Malaysia’s first Sustainability Sukuk in the healthcare sector issued by KPJ Healthcare Berhad. This transaction has also won the Bank several other accolades including Best Sustainability Sukuk (Malaysia).

The OCBC Group also participated in the lead role for Khazanah’s USD750 million Wakalah Sukuk issued in 2023, which has received numerous awards including Best Deal of the Year in Malaysia by various renowned publications.

“OCBC Malaysia is continuing our progressive efforts to support the government’s energy transition and decarbonisation agenda. We acknowledge the need for financial institutions to be the key catalyst to support the nation’s concerted efforts towards achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

“As one of the market leaders for responsible and sustainable finance, we will continue to support all corporates and government-linked companies in their ESG initiatives by offering bespoke financing solutions and playing a key role in the sustainability ecosystem,” Ms Tan said.