The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has sold US$232.2 million worth of Clean Energy Bonds in the Japanese retail market to support its renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in Asia and the Pacific. Lead manager was HSBC.
This is an escalation in the issuance of environment-themed bonds. The largest issuer of environment-themed bonds remains the World Bank, with $1.3 billion, although the ADB has said that it expects to issue more climate and green-themed bonds.
The ADB issuance follows the successful environment-themed sale in April of US$640 million worth of Water Bonds, supporting ADB's work in the water sector in Asia and the Pacific. Lead manager was Daiwa Securities.
Unlike the ring-fenced and independently verified lending programme tied to the World Bank bond, however, the ADB bond seems to be only loosely tied to its clean energy funding programme; it simply promises to support "clean energy projects in an amount at least equal to the amount raised by the latest bond issue". Mind you, the ADB has invested more than $5 billion in clean energy projects since 2005, and plans a further $2 billion in the coming two years.
The bond comprises four tranches; 4-year bonds denominated in Australian dollars, 4-year and 7-year bonds in Brazilian real, and 7-year bonds in Turkish lira.
