Green letters of credit (L/Cs) appear a step closer for Standard Chartered with the successful execution of its first green trade finance facility for Amplus Energy Solutions FZE (Amplus ES) to support its solar generation business.

The landmark solution means the bank is now well positioned to support companies in developing sustainable and resilient supply chains.

Amplus ES is a subsidiary of Amplus Solar, a UAE-based member of Malaysia's Petronas Group.

Low-carbon objectives

Petronas Group is Asia's leading distributed energy company which provides low-carbon energy solutions to its industrial and commercial customers.

The size of the financing has not been disclosed but Amplus is confident that it will help it meet its strategic objectives according to its managing director and CEO, Sanjeev Aggarwal.

With the green financing facility, "we are confident that we can further expand our green footprint across new regions and support companies in achieving their sustainability goals," he says.

L/C focus

Standard Chartered said when it launched its new suite of sustainable trade finance solutions launched earlier this year across Asia, Africa and the Middle East, Europe and the Americas that L/Cs would be one of its focus offerings.

The bank said other initial offerings will include supply chain finance, invoice financing, receivables services, bonds and guarantees, with additional products expected in due course.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or Coastline Solutions.