Exim Bank raises $500 million via green bond sale

Exim Bank today said it has raised USD 500 million through sale of green bond to international investors, making it the first such dollar-denominated offering from the country.
The money was raised through a 5-year Reg S green bond, which was priced 1.475 per cent over US treasury, fetching a fixed coupon of 2.75 per cent, the city- headquartered policy bank said in a statement.
This is the first USD-denominated green bond offering and the money will be deployed to fund projects in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, the state-run export finance agency said.
"The bond reinforces our commitment to the environment and helps us connect with socially responsible investors that care about the green investments that we facilitate," Exim Bank Chairman and Managing Director Yaduvendra Mathur said.

Private sector Yes Bank was the first domestic lender to raise money through the green bond, but it was a euro- denominated offering.
Money raised under the offering is used to fund environmentally sustainable projects.

The Exim Bank issue, launched yesterday, was subscribed 3.2 times from 140 accounts by attracting USD 1.6 billion in bids.
A majority 58 per cent participation came from fund managers, while banks came in with 20 per cent commitments and sovereign wealth funds or insurance companies accounted for 18 per cent.
Geographically, 60 per cent of participation came from Asia, 30 per cent from Europe, Middle East (West Asia) and Africa and balance from offshore US investors, the bank said.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch and JPMorgan acted as the joint lead managers for the issue, which was rated 'BBB-' by Standard & Poor's and 'Baa3' by Moody's, which is the same as the sovereign rating.