By Ying Xian Wong


Malaysia's RHB Bank is more than doubling its target for sustainable financing to over $10 billion by 2026, coming on the back of high demand for green projects in the Southeast Asian nation.

The Kuala Lumpur-based lender said Thursday that it will boost its target to 50 billion ringgit ($10.44 billion) by 2026, coming after it surpassed an initial goal of MYR20 billion.

RHB, Malaysia's fifth-largest bank by market capitalization, said it had financed MYR23.8 billion in sustainability projects by the end of 2023, with almost half going to renewable energy and energy efficiency pursuits.

The revised target comes as other major lenders in Malaysia are similarly boosting allocations for sustainable financing.

Malayan Banking, the country's largest bank, last year said it had hit the halfway point in its goal to put MYR80 billion into sustainable financing by 2025. CIMB Group, which counts sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional as its biggest shareholder, has planned to allocate RM100 billion to sustainable funding by this year.


Write to Ying Xian Wong at yingxian.wong@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-18-24 0609ET