X-Press Feeders (XPF) has signed a sustainability-linked loan agreement with investors including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).
The loan is expected to support X-Press Feeders in its ambitions to significantly reduce carbon emissions.
X-Press Feeders is using proceeds from the US$165 million loan to finance the purchase of three 7,000 TEU newbuild container ships, supporting the company’s large fleet renewal programme and replacing older, less-efficient vessels with new, more fuel-efficient ones.
“Sustainability-linked finance incentivises the achievement of environmental, social or governance targets through pricing incentives,” said the company.
“This financing is XPF’s first sustainability-linked loan, and pricing incentives are tied to our commitment to reduce the Annual Efficiency Ratio of our fleet by 40% between 2019 and 2027,” added X-Press Feeders.
“The target, which will be reviewed in 2027, ties with XPF’s global emission reduction target of halving our absolute emissions by 2040 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, supporting the broader shipping industry’s efforts to align itself with the Paris Agreement,” it noted.