Dutch issue first 'green bond'

The Netherlands said it was issuing its first "green bond" on Tuesday, becoming the first top-rated country to tap into a growing market for investments in environmental projects.

It is aiming to raise between four and six billion euros (USD 4.5 billion to USD 6.7 billion) up to July 2040, according to HSBC, one of the banks handling the operation, although the Dutch government did not immediately give a figure.

The Netherlands is the fifth country to issue environmentally friendly sovereign debt after fellow EU nations Poland, France, Belgium and Ireland.

"The Netherlands is today the first triple A country to issue a green bond," Dutch Finance Minister Wopke Hoekstra said on Twitter, referring to its international bond rating.

The Dutch finance ministry added: "With green bonds we finance green expenditures and we stimulate the green capital market. A new step towards a greener economy and a greener Netherlands." Climate change and the environment are pressing issues for the Netherlands, where at least a third of the country lies below sea level. Analysts said the Netherlands' first green bond set a high bar for other countries because of its tough environmental standards.

"We are looking at this green bond with a very favourable eye, particularly because it is the first sovereign green bond with such strict conditions," said Bram Bos, a portfolio manager at NN Investment Partners.

Hoekstra said earlier this year that these "dark green bonds" would only finance projects that meet specific criteria such as such as making a "substantial contribution to reducing CO2 emissions."