ANZ Bank Taiwan has signed a US$50 million sustainability-linked loan with U-Ming Marine Transport , a fully-owned subsidiary of U-Ming Marine Transport Corporation – one of Taiwan’s largest listed bulk carrier companies.

The loan will be used to fund U-Ming’s fleet renewal plan which includes the delivery of 11 new bulk carriers by the end of 2022.   These vessels are featured with optimized hull design; energy-saving main engines and devices; ultra-low friction paint hull-coating and a fleet safety management system designed by U-Ming.

This sustainability-linked loan from ANZ Bank further demonstrates U-Ming’s long-term commitment to transforming its vessels into a modern, environmentally-friendly fleet which fully complies with the IMO carbon reduction targets.

“We want to assure our customers that we are working towards the goal of operating an environmental-friendly fleet for the benefit of the next generation so that shipping is sustainable for our planet over the long term. We are committed to making significant investments in this goal and we aim to be a leader in our market”, said Mr CK Ong, U-Ming’s President.

U-Ming has engaged an external reviewer, the classification society DNV, to ensure the targets are aligned with the sustainability-linked loan and U-Ming’s business strategy.

The Company has a fleet of 60 vessels in operation, under construction, joint ventures and ship management services; totaling deadweight of 8.25 million tons. The average age of the owned bulk fleet is about 6.5 years. Besides the subsidiaries in Hong Kong, Singapore and China Xiamen; U-Ming Marine Offshore Co., Ltd. was recently set up to provide offshore wind maritime transportation services in Taiwan.

ANZ Taiwan country Head Hong Swee Lau said: “ANZ Taiwan is excited to support U-Ming Marine on this sustainability-linked loan. As one of the largest bulk carriers in Taiwan, U-Ming marine has the scale to make a significant impact through its sustainability agenda in the industry and its strategy aligns with ANZ’s ambitions to help drive the global transition to net zero.”

ANZ’s Sustainable Finance business is recognized as a market leader across Australia, New Zealand and Asia Pacific, and is estimated to have participated in approximately 5% of global sustainable finance deal volume in 2021, according to Bloomberg and ANZ data. During the 2021 financial year, this business participated in 81 transactions, with total deal size of AUD$119 billion.

ANZ is the largest bank servicing institutional and large corporate customers in its home markets of Australia and New Zealand, where it ranks #1 for relationship strength and overall market-and lead-bank penetration (according to Peter Lee Associates). In Asia, ANZ Institutional has ranked #1 for relationship quality for the past 5 years, according to Greenwich Associates.