Ahren Lester

Australia sees strong orderbook for AUD7bn debut sovereign green bond

The Australian government has launched a 10-year sovereign green bond which is intending to raise AUD7 billion ($4.7 billion).

IDB: Brazil 'green' foreign exchange hub is scalable and impactful

A senior adviser to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is working on making its 'green' foreign exchange (FX) hub launched with Brazil earlier this year scalable for other countries as a means to reduce hedging costs for investors and boosting sustainable investment to emerging markets.

Amundi: 'Very high potential' for sustainability-linked loans, bonds

French asset manager Amundi said sustainability-linked debt instruments can be the "right" transition impact finance tools, in particular sustainability-linked loans (SLLs) for decarbonising the balance sheets of banks.

'No head in the sand' for net-zero investment at global asset managers, says Amundi

French asset manager Amundi said global asset managers in Europe must ensure their net zero commitments do not drive them to put their "heads in the sand" about their global transition impact, whilst emerging markets should be "front and centre" of sustainable strategies.

EIB: We must be 'pragmatic, not dogmatic' on transition finance

A senior official at the European Investment Bank (EIB) said that sustainable finance cannot be "dogmatic" when it comes to choosing where to finance investments with the greatest impact for the transition.

EU green and sustainable discussion enters 'more complex' cost debate

A senior European Commission official said the debate on the EU Green Deal and sustainable finance is entering a "more complex" phase over its next five-year mandate as attention turns to cost and making the existing framework more market-friendly.

ICMA working on 'green enabling' activities guidance to counter 'greenwashing reflex'

The International Capital Market Association (ICMA)-administered Principles is preparing to publish some guidance for 'green enabling' activities in advance of its annual general meeting (AGM) in June.

Emirates Islamic raises $750m from 'milestone' debut sustainability sukuk

Emirates NBD-owned lender Emirates Islamic has raised $750 million from its inaugural sustainability sukuk, described as a "milestone" deal following the publication of key market guidance.

Bond round-up: AfDB, Verbund, IDB Invest ... and more

ESMA fund guidelines may be headwind for sustainable bonds, says Abrdn

The recently published sustainable fund naming guidelines published by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) could dampen demand for labelled sustainable bonds, according to Abrdn.