Alliance Bank Inks RM250 Million Green Financing Facilities With SKS Group
Kuala Lumpur, 4 July 2023 – Alliance Bank Malaysia Berhad has inked a RM250 million green loan facility with SKS Group to finance a mixed-use development in Johor Bahru City Centre.
SKS Group will utilise the fund to revive and rehabilitate the former Pacific Mall located along Jalan Storey in Johor Bahru into a mixed-use development dubbed “SKS Tower”. The whole development will comprise a retail podium, hotel and office spaces that will be certified with GreenRE’s Gold rating once completed.
Alliance Bank’s group chief executive officer Kellee Kam said, “As a bank, we aim to create a positive impact on society, the environment and the economy by raising awareness and inspiring adoption of ESG-related practices. In line with our Bank’s commitment to push the ESG agenda forward, we target to further grow our sustainable banking business by another RM4.65 billion this financial year, building upon the cumulative RM8.1 billion base as of our previous financial year. We are excited to be part of SKS Group’s project, which places ESG elements at its core to reduce its carbon footprint.”
SKS Group executive director Simon Sim said the green loan marks a significant milestone for the Group in its sustainability journey. “We are very delighted to partner with Alliance Bank who has accelerated not just our company’s growth and now also in our sustainability journey. This development shows our commitment of being more environmentally responsible and we aim to develop more sustainable developments moving forward. This development is also expected to transform the city’s skyline and create more job opportunities at the same time for the locals,” said Simon Sim.
Apart from the green loan financing agreement, SKS Group had also inked a hotel management agreement with Marriott International, to open the 345-room Sheraton Johor Bahru for the hotel portion of the mixed-use development. This is SKS Group’s second collaboration with Marriott International, following the opening of Four Points by Sheraton Desaru in 2021.
