First Chinese issuer on LSE International Securities Market
Second Climate Bonds Certified Green Bond from ICBC
Triple-tranche floating rate notes raise USD1.58 billion equivalent from international investors
Confirms London’s status as a leading international green finance centre
The Industrial and Commercial Bank of China - London branch (ICBC London) has listed a USD1.58 billion equivalent green bond on the London Stock Exchange International Securities Market (ISM) today.
This is the second Climate Bonds Certified Green Bond from the world’s biggest bank. The first was a USD2.1bn green bond issued in September 2017.
The LSEG has announced that today’s listing, part of ICBC’s USD10 billion MTN programme, is the largest ever green bond listing on the London Stock Exchange and the first Chinese issuance on ISM. The ICBC London dual-currency green bond includes a three-year floating rate dollar tranche which raised USD500 million, a five-year floating rate dollar tranche which raised USD500 million and a three-year floating rate euro tranche which raised EUR500 million.
Climate Bonds understands that the bond priced at the tightest level ever achieved by ICBC in a USD and EUR comparable floating rate note (FRN) format and the decision to list in London was influenced by the outcomes of the December 2017 UK-China Economic & Financial Dialogue.
The new ICBC London Green Bonds are backed by a range of low carbon transport, wind, solar and marine renewables assets from China, Pakistan and the UK, and include:
- Three railway lines in China
- Multiple onshore wind and solar farms across different provinces in China and in Pakistan
- The Beatrice Offshore Wind farm project in Scotland
The renewable energy developments have a combined generating capacity of approximately 3.7GW.
The asset mix is reflective of the global impact of ICBC’s expanding green financing program & ICBC’s ongoing commitment to green credit, which amounted to over RMB1 trillion (USD 174bn) at the end of 2017.
Sean Kidney, CEO, Climate Bonds Initiative:
“ICBC, the largest listed company and the largest bank in the world, is again demonstrating global best practice with this latest Climate Bonds Certified green bond.”
“The record size and London listing from ICBC is a pointer for large institutional investors to the scale of green finance opportunities increasingly evident in China & now appearing throughout Asia as emerging economies address their combined climate, green infrastructure and sustainable development challenges.”
“ICBC is the world's biigest bank. More banks in the Top 100 should be taking note of their leadership on green bonds, best practice in Certification, and green underwriting.”
“The big question now facing many banks in the Top 100 is not if should they follow the ICBC example, but when?”
The Last Word
The bond has been Certified by the Climate Bonds Initiative, verified by Zhongcai Green Finance and the use of proceeds for the transaction are aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), 6, 7 and 11. CICERO & Zhongcai Green Finance have also provided second party opinions on the company’s Green Bond Framework.
In addition to Climate Bonds Certification the issuance also aligns with the ICMA Green Bond Principles 2017 and the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) Green Bond Categories, in line with ICBC’s commitment to global best practice in green bond issuance.
做得好 !
‘Till next time,
Climate Bonds
P.S.: Background to ICBC
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) was established on 1 January 1984. On 28 October 2005, the Bank was wholly restructured to a joint-stock limited company. On 27 October 2006, the Bank was successfully listed on both Shanghai Stock Exchange and Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited.
ICBC operates in 45 different countries and has ranked at 1st place in The Banker’s Top 1000 World Banks, the Forbes Global 2000 and the Fortune Global 500 Sub-list of Commercial Banks. ICBC has had a presence in London since 1995 and ICBC London (plc) was established in 2003. More information on ICBC Green Finance is available here.
