The sustainable bond market surged this week, with the amount of bonds issued doubling to 36 compared to the previous week. As a result, the volume issued topped $21 billion - over three times the amount issued in the previous week.
The strong week was led by a significant number of large bonds, seven of which were valued over $1 billion. Long-standing issuer IBRD topped this week's issuance with a $5 billion Sustainable Development Bond (SDB); the supranational saw over $11 billion in orders from investors for the five year deal.
Other notable large deals this week include a four-tranche social bond from Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation (HKMC) worth a combined $3 billion and becoming the largest social issuance in Asia to date. Meanwhile, there was also a €1.5 billion dual-tranche green bond from German electrical infrastructure firm Eurogrid and the sixth social bond from Caixabank worth €1.25 billion.
Canada also tapped its pioneering March 2034 green sovereign bond. The original transaction was issued earlier in 2024 and became the first sovereign green bond to include nuclear power in its eligible use of proceeds. The CAD2 billion ($1.5 billion) tap takes the total raised from this green bond series to CAD6 billion, and the total amount in green bonds raised by sovereign since its 2022 debut to CAD11 billion.
This week also saw an improvement in the sustainable loan market from the previous week, with a total of $2 billion raised, compared to the $590 million raised last week.
This week was led by a $560 million sustainability-linked loan from Hong Kong-based health and nutrition firm Health & Happiness. The loan is linked to a number of metrics including Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi)-aligned supplier engagement to reduce Scope 3 emissions and increase the use of renewable energy and sustainable packaging.
- 36 sustainable bonds were issued and added to our database this week
- $21.3 billion total value of sustainable bonds issued this week, down from $6.4 billion the previous week
- 11 loans worth $2 billion were added to our intelligence platform this week
Top five bonds issued by value
| Issuer | Label | Value | Issuer type | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBRD | Sustainability | $5 billion | Supranational | Supranational |
| HKMC | Social | $3 billion | Agency | Hong Kong |
| International Development Association | Sustainability | €1.75 billion ($1.9 billion) | Supranational | Supranational |
| Eurogrid | Green | €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) | Corporate | Germany |
| Canada | Green | CAD2 billion ($1.5 billion) | Sovereign | Canada |
These are the largest five bonds issued between 16 October 2024 and 22 October 2024, taken from Environmental Finance Data's Intelligence Platform.
Top five loans originated by value
| Borrower | Label | Value | Sector | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health & Happiness | Sustainability-Linked | $560 million | Healthcare | Hong Kong |
| ESR | Sustainability-Linked | $225 million | Real Estate | Hong Kong |
| Maire Tecnimont | Sustainability-Linked | €200 million ($218 million) | Industrial machinery and engineering | Italy |
| Oxford Properties | Green | €182 million ($198 million) | Real Estate | Canada |
| Swedish Logistic Property (SLP) | Sustainability-Linked | SEK2 billion ($190 million) | Real Estate | Sweden |
These are the largest five loans issued between 16 October 2024 and 22 October 2024, taken from Environmental Finance Data's Intelligence Platform.
Sustainable debt news highlights on Environmental Finance
Sustainable sukuk a 'potential accelerator' for Islamic finance industry
Record sustainable sukuk issuance points to the catalytic potential of the market for interest in Islamic finance, S&P Global Ratings Mohamed Damak tells Ahren Lester.
SCOR launches fifth real estate debt strategy
SCOR Investment Partners has launched the fifth vintage of its senior debt real estate strategy.
CPP invests £50m in UK residential energy services business
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) has led a £50 million ($65 million) mezzanine facility into residential energy services group Hometree.
This week's bonds by issuer type
This shows all new bonds added to Environmental Finance Data's Intelligence Platform between 16 October 2024 and 22 October 2024 broken down by issuer type.
Bond in focus: Government of Canada
| Value | CAD2 billion ($1.5 billion) |
|---|---|
| Coupon payment frequency | Semi-Annual |
| Settlement date | 17 October 2024 |
| Maturity date | 1 March 2034 |
| Tenor | 9.5 Years |
| Coupon | 3.5% |
| Has Framework? | Yes |
| Has Second party opinion? | Yes. Provided by Sustainalytics |
| Standards | ICMA GBP, EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy |
| Lead Manager | N/A |
| Use of Proceeds |
|
| SDGs | SDG: 6,7,9,11,12,13,14,15 |
The Government of Canada has tapped its second green bond, raising an additional CAD2 billion and taking the total raised from this green bond to CAD6 billion. The green bond was issued in March 2024 under Canada's pioneering framework which included nuclear power under its use of proceeds.
Read more on the latest green bond tap from Canada here, with further information on the original transaction here.
Other sustainable debt issuance news on Environmental Finance
HKMC issues largest social bond in Asia Pacific
Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation (HKMC) has raised around $3 billion from its third social bond transaction, becoming the largest social bond deal in Asia Pacific to date.
QNB issues 'first' blue bond in Turkiye
QNB Türkiye has raised $125 million from a sustainable bond that includes a ground-breaking 'blue bond' tranche, becoming the first Turkish issuer to come to market with a sustainable water-focused deal.
IDB backs Mexico's 'first-of-its-kind' agribusiness sustainable bond
IDB Invest has led a MXN339 million ($16.9 million) investment in Mexico's first jointly issued sustainable bond.
Who are the top lead managers of 2024 year-to-date?
This shows the top lead managers for sustainable bonds in terms of value YTD (up to 22 October 2024), using data from Environmental Finance Data's Intelligence Platform.
From our analysts: Annual transition bond issuance
The annual issuance of transition bonds have grown materially since their initial appearance in the sustainable bond market in 2017.
The growth in volume of issuance has lagged behind the number of issuers of the instrument in recent years, however, with a surge of Japanese issuers coming to market with smaller transition bonds in 2022 after Japan issued transition finance guidance.
In 2024 to date, however, the volume of transition bond issuance has increased significantly. This has predominantly been due to the large Japanese sovereign transition bond issuance, which has already made the Japan government by far the largest transition bond issuer in the market.
Environmental Finance Data
Environmental Finance Data is Environmental Finance's data platform. It is updated daily with the latest labelled sustainable bonds and loans - including green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked instruments. The dynamic data platform offers users comprehensive information on the sustainable bond and loan market which is ideal for research and analysis. For more information or to see the platform in action, email scott.davis@fieldgibsonmedia.com.