Hong Kong Raises US$5.75 Billion in Green Bonds Sale
The Government of Hong Kong successfully sold US$5.75 billion worth of green bonds denominated in US dollars (USD), euro (EUR) and Renminbi (RMB), under the Government Green Bond Programme. The triple-currency offering is the largest ESG bond issuance in Asia.
The Green Bonds were well received by global investors and attracted new investors who had not participated in the HKSAR Government’s previous green bond issuances before, with continued participation from a diverse group of conventional and green investors.
In particular, the RMB tranches were doubled in size to a total of RMB10 billion to cater for investor demand, and attracted increased participation of Mainland investors through Southbound Trading under Bond Connect.
The Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, said: “We see continued strong demand from global institutional investors for the HKSAR Government’s green bonds despite the recent market volatility. Since our issuance in 2021, we have once again launched a triple-currency issuance this year to demonstrate our commitment to promoting the development of green and sustainable finance in Hong Kong and providing the market with useful benchmarks. In fact, we are the first government issuer in Asia to issue green bonds in three currencies concurrently.”
The Green Bonds are being issued under the Global Medium Term Note Programme dedicated to green bond issuances established in early 2021. The Green Bonds are expected to be settled on 11 January 2023 and concurrently listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. The Green Bonds have been assigned credit ratings of AA+ by S&P Global Ratings and AA- by Fitch.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority acts as the HKSAR Government’s representative in the green bond offerings under the Government Green Bond Programme. Proceeds raised under the Programme will be credited to the Capital Works Reserve Fund to finance or refinance projects that provide environmental benefits and support the sustainable development of Hong Kong.
Crédit Agricole CIB and HSBC acted as Joint Global Coordinators, Joint Lead Managers, Joint Bookrunners and Joint Green Structuring Banks for all tranches. For the USD and EUR tranches, Citigroup and J.P. Morgan acted as Joint Global Coordinators, and together with BNP PARIBAS, BofA Securities, Morgan Stanley and UBS acted as Joint Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners.
For the RMB tranches, Bank of China (Hong Kong) and ICBC (Asia) acted as Joint Global Coordinators, and together with Bank of Communications, Mizuho and Standard Chartered Bank as Joint Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners.
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