Bank of China Issues $3bn in International Green Bonds

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Bank of China Issues $3bn in International Green Bonds

Bank of China has sold $3.03bn in new green bonds, the largest international issuance of its kind, as the country’s environmental woes help drive global sales of such debt.

The issuance was the first to be made in three currencies — a $2.25bn tranche, a €500m tranche and a one issued in New York totalling 1.5bn in offshore renminbi. It was also the first green bond offering from Asia to be made in Europe. The proceeds from green bonds must be used for approved projects deemed environmentally sound.

Chinese_Bank_of_China.jpgBut the sale has also shown that China’s financial institutions were gearing up to meet the financing demands of large-scale environmental projects in the country.

“The government is promoting green projects and these projects need financing,” said Conan Tam, co-head of Asia Pacific debt solutions at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

In recent years, China has faced some of the world’s most polluted skies. Residents increasingly take to the streets to protest against new factories they believe could pollute their living space.

Financial regulators have stepped up their supervision of polluters this year. This month the country’s securities regulator said it would ban initial public offerings by companies that have recently broken environmental protection rules.

China leads the world in the sale of the green debt this year and has helped push global issuance in the first seven months of 2016 close to the full-year total for last year.

Read full article at: Financial Times

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