Bergen, Norway /Yokohama, Japan 31 March 2023 With reference to the stock exchange announcements published16 February 2023 and24 March 2023 ,Proximar Seafood AS ("Proximar"), through its subsidiaryProximar Ltd. (Japan ), is pleased to announce that it has signedJapan's first "blue-sustainability loan". The corporate loan ofJPY 8.8 billion (~NOK 680 million ) is issued by a syndicate of the three leading Japanese banks;Mizuho Bank Ltd ,The Shizuoka Bank andDevelopment Bank of Japan . "Signing this blue sustainability loan inJapan proves our strong commitment to sustainable fisheries, salmon farming and food supply, in addition to bringing us to our ~45 percent debt ratio target at attractive terms," saysJoachim Nielsen , CEO ofProximar Seafood . The proceeds of the loan will be used to fund the development of Proximar's land-based recirculating aquaculture system forAtlantic salmon. The loan will be structured in two disbursements, where the first disbursement will be executed in April, and the second will come at the time of take-over of the post-smolt grow-out building in the third quarter of 2023.Mizuho Bank, Ltd. ("Mizuho") has been mandated as an arranger of the syndicated loan agreement which is issued by Mizuho,The Shizuoka Bank , andDevelopment Bank of Japan , at an interest rate below 5 percent. "At Mizuho, we are strengthening our initiatives toward realizing a sustainable society, including responding to climate change and the transition to a low-carbon society, and we highly evaluate Proximar's contribution and approach to the marine conservation. We therefore proposed to financially support their project through the use of a blue-sustainability loan", statesMizuho Bank in a press release. Blue-sustainability loans specifically address Goal 14 ("Life below water") of the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals to fund projects which promote marine conservation and sustainable fisheries. Proximar has established its Blue-Sustainability Finance Framework by complying with the Green Bond Principles, Social Bond Principles, Sustainability Bond Guidelines, Green Loan Principles, Social Loan Principles, Green Bond Guidelines, Social Bond Guidelines, Green Loan Guidelines, Blue Finance Guideline issued by theInternational Finance Corporation , and Sustainable Blue Economy Principles issued by the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (collectively, the "Principles and Guidelines"). For more information, please contact:Pål K. Grimsrud , CFO, +47 99 47 75 99, pkg@proximar.comJoachim Nielsen , CEO, +81 70 2811 9898, jn@proximar.com AboutProximar Seafood Proximar Seafood is a Norwegian land-based salmon farming company with its first production facility and production at the foot ofMount Fuji inJapan . The company inserted its first batch of eggs inOctober 2022 and has currently inserted batch number four. Through land-based salmon farming, using high-quality ground water secured close toMount Fuji , the company will produce fresh Atlantic Salmon, harvested the same day. Proximar's location, near one of the world's most important fish markets, implies significant advantages, both in terms of reduced cost and carbon footprint.
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