Hapag-Lloyd unveils plans for sustainability note

Hapag-Lloyd AG plans to issue a sustainability-linked corporate senior notes of €300 million (US$356 million), which will comply with the principles of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA).

A consortium of banks has been engaged to hold meetings with potential investors in the near future, while at the same time, the planned transaction is to be verified by an independent expert in the form of a secondary party opinion of DNV.

The proceeds of these bonds will be used to redeem early and in full the existing EUR bond (ISIN XS1645113322 and ISIN XS1645114056) of €300 million which are due to mature in 2024.

If the new sustainability-linked corporate senior note is successfully placed, the existing note is expected to be redeemed on 7 April 2021 at the fixed price of 102.563%.

Hapag-Loyd said that the sustainability-linked senior note is associated with the sustainability target, according to which by 2030, the CO₂ intensity of the company’s own fleet is to be reduced by 60% compared with 2008, the reference year of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Hapag-Lloyd aims to achieve this goal by purchasing new and efficient ships, phasing out old ships, using alternative fuels and introducing additional measures to reduce emissions.

The lower CO₂ emissions of its own fleet are to be measured and annually disclosed according to the so-called Average Efficiency Ratio (AER) indicator: For Hapag-Lloyd’s own fleet, this was 11.68 in 2008 and is expected to fall to 4.67 by 2030. The AER provides information on carbon intensity measured in grams of CO₂/tonne-mile (gCO₂/dwt*nm).

“We will continue to lower our carbon footprint and we will be transparently measured against it – year after year. With our new sustainability target, we are setting a clear goal for our level of carbon intensity by 2030,” commented Mark Frese, chief financial officer of Hapag-Lloyd AG, who went on to add, “This will likewise be an integral part of our expanded sustainability strategy, which we will be publishing later this year. At the same time, with the planned sustainability-linked senior note, we would like to gain additional momentum in our green financing activities.”