September 2021
CIC has not carried out any audit mission for nor commissioned any consultancy services with Kinform Timber Limited and there is no established relationship (financial or others) between CIC and Kinform Timber Limited.
The opinion provided herein is an independent opinion on the sustainability credentials and management of the financial instrument, based on the information made available to CIC. CIC has neither interviewed any of the Kinform Timber Limited’s employees, nor performed any on-site assessment and tests to check the accuracy of the information provided by Kinform Timber Limited. The accuracy, comprehensiveness and trustworthiness of the information collected rests with Kinform Timber Limited. CIC, in providing this opinion, has not certified the effectiveness, the quality or the irreversibility of the assets to be financed by the sustainable financing instrument. Kinform Timber Limited is fully responsible for attesting the compliance with its commitments defined in its policies, for their implementation and monitoring. The opinion delivered by CIC neither focuses on the financial performance of Kinform Timber Limited, nor on the effective allocation of its proceeds. CIC is not liable for the consequences arising if third parties use this opinion either to make investment decisions or to make any kind of business transaction.
The opinion provided by CIC on Kinform Timber Limited can only be used by Kinform Timber Limited and the Financial Institution. The distribution and publication are at the discretion of Kinform Timber Limited, subject to CIC’s approval.
| Application no. | SFCS-APPLY-2021-020 |
|---|---|
| Certificate no. | SFCS-2021-009 |
| Date of application | 2021.12.22 |
| Company name | Kinform Timber Limited |
| Business registration no. | 50836629 |
| Company profile | Kinform Timber Company Limited is based in Hong Kong. Sourcing for forest products in Vancouver, Malaysia and China. Our primary market mainly involves trading in Hong Kong, Macau and China specializing in government projects. Our company is one of the largest timber sawmills and traders in Hong Kong with our own warehouses, sawmills and sales/marketing office which are also located in Hong Kong. As a member of the Hong Kong Green Purchasing Charter and the Hong Kong Real Property Federation, we aim to create a sustainable and environmentally friendly world for our future generations. Our products abide the LEED and BEAM plus standards of the Hong Kong Green Council, and are both FSC™ and PEFC certified. |
| Sustainable financing instrument | Green Loan |
| Application level | Company Level |
Kinform Timber Limited has confirmed the proceeds will be used for the specified Project Categories that meet the eligibility criteria stated:
| Project Categories | Circular Economy Adapted Products, Production Technologies and Processes |
| Eligibility Criteria | Substitute virgin raw materials, largely preventing natural resource depletion and environmental depletion and environmental degradation from happening. |
Kinform Timber Limited has confirmed that the selected Project Categories and Eligibility Criteria are in line with the following internationally recognized frameworks across financial markets:
Frameworks
Kinform Timber Limited has also confirmed the following purposes of the proceeds:
Purpose of financing
Kinform proposes to raise Green Loan for its forestry products that fall into one of the Green Loan Principle project categories which is Circular Economy Adapted Products, Production Technologies and Processes.
Kinform confirmed its forestry products are certified with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification (PEFC).
The forestry products of Kinform also originate from sustainable sources and abide the LEED and BEAM plus standards of the Hong Kong Green Building Council.
To ensure that the projects financed by the sustainable financing instrument meet the eligible criteria, Kinform Timber Limited has established an evaluation and selection process with the following key elements:
Evaluation and selection
The evaluation and selection process will be conducted by an internal governance body which comprises senior members to evaluate and select eligible projects. Kinform has formulated procurement policy to govern the procedures of project evaluation and selection which is the trading of FSC and PEFC certified wood.
We consider that the applicant has well-defined internal checking procedures for project evaluation and selection.
Kinform Timber Limited has provided information regarding the internal governance process through which the company can track allocation of funds towards green projects. Kinform Timber Limited will establish a register of funds to contain the following information:
Information
Pending the full allocation of the proceeds, Kinform Timber Limited intends to hold and/or invest the balance of proceeds not yet allocated in accordance with n/a
Kinform confirmed that there is a dedicated account for the proceeds. Key transaction information, including transaction date, the principle amount of proceeds, repayment or amortisation profile, maturity date, purchase contract and/or relevant project or sales contract will be recorded.
Kinform will appoint its Finance Department for internal governance on proceeds management under the guidance of the bank. Project manager will submit a report to the Finance Department for review annually.
Besides, Kinform confirmed the use of the fund registry template in tracking the allocation of proceeds.
Kinform Timber Limited is committed to transparent reporting and will publish loan allocation report (website) within one year from the date of issuance of each sustainable financing instrument and annually thereafter until the full allocation of the proceeds. The report will consist of information on the allocation of the proceeds and the environmental impacts of the projects.
Allocation Report
In terms of impact reporting, Kinform Timber Limited will report on relevant environmental metrics of the projects to which the proceeds have been allocated in line with the technical requirements.
| Project Categories | Circular Economy Adapted Products, Production Technologies and Processes |
| Metrics | Supply 100% of sustainable forest timber The timber products came from FSC or PEEFC or Environmental Product Declaration, etc. Maintain a list of projects supplying with sustainable forest timber (indication of BEAM Plus / LEED adopted or not is preferable) Provided the chain of custody record and certificate for specific products, timber |
| Methodologies | BEAM plus NB 1.2 MA P1 BEAM plus NB 2.0 IDCM P3 |
We confirmed that Kinform has committed to continue to perform use of proceeds and impact reporting on an annual basis through company website.
| Use of proceeds | Compliant |
|---|---|
| Project evaluation and selection | Compliant |
| Management of proceeds | Compliant |
| Reporting | Compliant |
Based on the above assessment, we recommend to approve the application (Application no.: SFCS-APPLY-2021-020, Certificate no.: SFCS-2021-009) of the CIC Sustainable Finance Certification Scheme with validity from 30-09-2021 to 29-09-2023 .