HOSPITAL OPERATOR MEDICLINIC IS GETTING AFRICA’S FIRST SUSTAINABILITY LINKED LOAN

MEDICLINIC has refinanced R8.45 billion in loans through Rand Merchant Bank, the hospital operator said yesterday, in what the bank described as Africa’s first sustainability-linked banking facility. Investors and environmentalists have been critical of South African banks for not doing enough to meet sustainability targets and being easy on funding to fossil fuel based projects. Under pressure, the top four banks in the country have taken measures such as reducing funding for coal and increasing exposure to renewable and environmentally sustainable projects. “By achieving preagreed sustainability performance targets, Mediclinic Southern Africa will benefit from a reduced facility margin through an incentive-based pricing mechanism,” the country’s third biggest hospital chain operator said. The targets are directly linked to key group environmental and social goals of progressing to becoming carbon neutral with zero waste to landfill by 2030, it said. RMB, a division of FirstRand Ltd, said the loan was Africa’s first syndicated sustainability-linked loan arranged by a bank in Africa. South Africa’s FirstRand, among the country’s top banks, said last week that it will end funding for new coal-fired power stations and coal mines as part of its initiative to reach netzero emissions by 2050. | Reuters