Financial News

Hamburg, 23 March 2021

Hapag-Lloyd AG plans to issue a sustainability-linked senior note

- Bond volume of EUR 300 million envisaged

- Proceeds to be used for early redemption of existing EUR bond

- CO2 emissions of own fleet to be significantly lowered

Subject to attractive market conditions, Hapag-Lloyd AG plans to issue a sustainability-linked corporate senior note in the amount of EUR 300 million, which will comply with the principles of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA). To this end, a consortium of banks was engaged today to hold meetings with potential investors in the near future. At the same time, the planned transaction is to be verified by an independent expert in the form of a secondary party opinion of the DNV. The proceeds of this potential note issuance will be used to redeem early and in full the existing EUR bond (ISIN XS1645113322 and ISIN XS1645114056) in the amount of EUR 300 million and maturing in 2024. If the new sustainability-linked corporate senior note is successfully placed, the existing note is expected to be redeemed on 7 April 2021 at the fixed price of 102.563%.

The sustainability-linked senior note is associated with a clearly defined sustainability target: By 2030, the CO2 intensity of Hapag-Lloyd's own fleet is to be reduced by 60% compared with 2008, the reference year of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Hapag-Lloyd aims to achieve this ambitious goal by purchasing new and efficient ships, phasing out old ships, using alternative fuels and introducing additional measures to reduce emissions. The lower CO2 emissions of its own fleet are to be measured and annually disclosed according to the so-called Average Efficiency Ratio (AER) indicator: For Hapag-Lloyd's own fleet, this was 11.68 in 2008 and is now expected to fall to 4.67 by 2030. The AER provides information on CO2 intensity measured in grams of CO2 per tonne-mile (gCO2/dwt*nm).

"We will continue to lower our carbon footprint and we will be transparently measured against it - year after year. With our new sustainability target, we are setting a clear goal for our level of CO2 intensity by 2030. This will likewise be an integral part of our expanded sustainability strategy, which we will be publishing later this year. At the same time, with the planned sustainability-linked senior note, we would like to gain additional momentum in our green financing activities," said Mark Frese, CFO of Hapag-Lloyd AG.


About Hapag-Lloyd
With a fleet of 237 modern container ships and a total transport capacity of 1.7 million TEU, Hapag-Lloyd is one of the world's leading liner shipping companies. The Company has around 13,100 employees and 395 offices in 129 countries. Hapag-Lloyd has a container capacity of approximately 2.7 million TEU - including one of the largest and most modern fleets of reefer containers. A total of 122 liner services worldwide ensure fast and reliable connections between more than 600 ports on all the continents. Hapag-Lloyd is one of the leading operators in the Transatlantic, Middle East, Latin America and Intra-America trades.

Disclaimer
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The securities are not intended to be offered, sold or otherwise made available to and should not be offered, sold or otherwise made available to any retail investor in the European Economic Area ("EEA") and the United Kingdom. For these purposes, a "Retail Investor" means a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; (ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/97, where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of article 4(1) of MiFID II; or (iii) not a Qualified Investor as defined in Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (the "Prospectus Regulation"). Consequently, no key information document required by Regulation (EU) 1286/2014 (the "PRIIPs Regulation") for offering or selling the securities or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the EEA has been prepared and therefore offering or selling the bonds or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the EEA and the United Kingdom may be unlawful under the PRIIPs Regulation. In the United Kingdom, MiFID II, the Prospectus Regulation and PRIIPs Regulation form part of domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("EUWA").

This announcement contains forward-looking statements, which do not represent facts and are characterized by the words "expect", "believe", "estimate", "intend", "aim", "assume" or similar expressions. Such statements express the intentions, opinions or current expectations and assumptions of the Hapag-Lloyd group and are based on current plans, estimates and forecasts which the Hapag-Lloyd group has made to the best of its knowledge, but which do not claim to be correct in the future. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and usually cannot be influenced by the Hapag-Lloyd group. Actual events or developments may differ materially from those contained in or expressed by such forward-looking statements.