Royal America sells and leases electricity-powered equipment for logistics and cargo in Chile, Ecuador and Colombia. The company issued a $26 million, seven-year bond with support from Swiss impact investor responsAbility and Latin America-focused development bank IDB Invest.
The bond is structured in two tranches; the first, up to $16 million in Chilean Pesos, is allocated to Royal America Chile and anchored by IDB Invest. responsAbility will co-invest in the second tranche which is up to $10 million and allocated to Royal America Colombia.
The bond’s proceeds will finance the acquisition of electric alternatives to conventional gas-powered forklifts, pallet trucks and other machinery for the food, retail, agriculture and manufacturing sectors in both countries.
IDB Invest had provided a $20 million loan to Royal America in 2022 to help it import electrical equipment in Chile and Colombia.
Sustainable finance
Corporate and sovereign entities have led more green bond issuances across Latin America and the Caribbean than banks, local governments and other issuers. Chile issued the region’s first sovereign green bond in 2019 to raise close to $1 billion for renewable energy, water management, clean transport and other green projects.
Several companies in the region have issued green bonds, including real estate developer Internacional de Inversiones, which raised $45 million in 2023 with support from the International Finance Corp. for sustainable and energy efficient construction in Mexico. Chilean chemicals producer Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile issued $700 million of unsecured green bonds in 2021 to finance lithium production for electric vehicles.
