EBRD ISSUES GREEN BOND THAT JAPAN POST BOUGHT

The EBRD today issued an AUD 280 million Green Transition Bond, which was bought in full by Japan Post Insurance Co. This transaction is both the largest Green Transition Bond private placement issued by the EBRD and the first such placement to be bought solely by a Japanese investor.

The proceeds of the 10-year bond, which bears a coupon of 1.2 per cent paid semi-annually and which settled today, will finance the EBRD’s portfolio of green transition projects that seek to enable significant improvements towards decarbonisation, a reduction in the environmental footprint and/or improved resource efficiency in key sectors of the economy such as manufacturing and food production.

The EBRD has issued Green Bonds since 2010, and introduced the Green Transition Bond Programme as well as issuing its inaugural Climate Resilience Bond in 2019 to highlight the importance of these themes in achieving the goals set by the Paris Agreement.

As a leader in climate finance, the EBRD has set a target annual green investment ratio of more than 50 per cent by 2025 under its Green Economy Transition strategy for the period 2021-25.

The purchase is part of Japan Post Insurance Co’s commitment to an environmentally friendly and just transition to a sustainable economy, as well as to a green recovery that accelerates countermeasures against climate change to underpin economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.

The company believes that investment in the bonds will play an extremely important role in promoting the transition to a net-zero carbon society.

The EBRD has a strong relationship with Japan, which holds 9 percent of the EBRD’s shares. An EBRD representative office opened in Tokyo in 2016.

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