MARC Ratings assigns “Gold” Impact Assessment to Paramount’s Sustainability-Linked Financing Framework

MARC Ratings has assigned a "Gold" Impact Assessment to Paramount Corporation Berhad's Sustainability-Linked Financing Framework. The framework has been established to set the guiding principles for Paramount's issuance of Sustainability-Linked Financing to achieve sustainability performance targets (SPTs) in relation to selected key performance indicators (KPIs).

Bursa Malaysia-listed Paramount has been involved in property development since 1978 and has built a property portfolio comprising residential, commercial, retail, educational, industrial, hospitality, and integrated developments. These projects span across Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Kedah and Penang.

For the issuance of the Sustainability-Linked Financing, Paramount has selected three KPIs, calibrated with their respective SPTs, which are relevant, core, and material to the company's primary business of property development:

• KPI 1: Percentage of cumulative gross floor area assigned with green certification
• KPI 2: Percentage of cumulative construction sites certified via Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia's Safety and Health Assessment System in Construction
• KPI 3: Reduction of greenhouse gas emissions intensity covering Scopes 1 and 2

These KPIs collectively address six of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs).

We opine that the framework is aligned with the core components of the Sustainable and Responsible Investment Linked Sukuk Framework of the Securities Commission Malaysia and the Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles of the International Capital Market Association. The Gold assessment of the framework reflects the view that the impact of the KPIs is significant, with social and environmental benefits that support six UN SDGs.