Stephenson Harwood advises on transformative green loan

Law firm Stephenson Harwood has advised BECIS Bioenergy Pte. Ltd. (BECIS) on a green loan financing of US$30 million. The funds will be used for the construction of bioenergy projects across Southeast Asia and India.

The loan will finance 14 individual bioenergy installations across Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines and India. The projects convert agricultural waste and other sustainably sourced feedstock into renewable steam, which will be delivered to commercial and industrial customers under offtake agreements.

"This deal has the potential to transform the energy landscape across the region," said Dr Gregory Xu, partner, Stephenson Harwood. "Drawing on our extensive experience in the trade and decarbonisation spheres, we were able to provide bespoke advice which spoke to the particular issues at play. It's the sort of work we're seeing more of, as decarbonisation moves up the agenda, and on which we are well-placed to advise."

The financing is jointly provided by Clifford Capital (Clifford), an infrastructure financing platform, and Pentagreen Capital (Pentagreen), a sustainable infrastructure debt financing platform. Pentagreen was established by HSBC and Temasek, and has been structured as a Green Loan under BECIS’ Green Loan Framework – which is aligned with the Green Loan Principles 2023, administered by the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association and Loan Syndications and Trading Association. A Second Party Opinion has been issued by Sustainalytics.

The financing comes with an additional accordion feature of US$20 million, where the committed US$30 million has the potential to unlock US$60 million in project value. BECIS anticipates averting 319,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually, creating a transformative shift in the energy landscape across the region.

The team was led by partner Dr Gregory Xu, who was supported by associate Kenneth Kwok, and paralegal Dan Tan.