Page 2 - Green Bonds

LIC Housing Finance plans to raise funds via green bonds in next fiscal yr

LIC Housing Finance, the mortgage arm of insurance behemoth LIC, plans to mobilise funds through green bonds in the coming financial year with an aim to finance environmentally-sustainable housing projects. "Green financing is something that we will look at the next year and we would deploy the fund for financing green housing projects," LIC Housing Finance MD and CEO Tribhuwan Adhikari told PTI in an interaction. LIC Housing Finance will have its board meeting on March 7 to consider and approve the borrowing plan for 2024-2025 through loans or issue of redeemable non-convertible debentures, zero couponed bonds, subordinate debt, Tier II bonds or any other means approved by the regulator. Adhikari said the company hopes to hit the net profit of Rs 5,000 crore-milestone by the end of current financial year on the back of robust loan demand and expansion in non-core business. The non-core businesses include Loan Against Property (LAP) and affordable housing finance, he ...

ADB mobilises Rs 1,250 cr through issuance of green bonds in local market

The Asian Development Bank on Wednesday said it has garnered Rs 1,250 crore (about USD 150 million) through its largest local currency green bond issue so far. The issue is structured as a 4-year currency linked bond, with a one-time repayment at maturity and carrying a fixed interest rate of 6.72 per cent per year, ADB said in a statement. The bond is denominated in Indian rupees but settled in United States dollars, with returns to investors indexed to the performance of the Indian currency, it said. Such bond structures are popularly known as masala bonds in the Indian financial community, it said. Proceeds of the green bond will be deployed to finance ADB's private sector renewable energy and green finance projects, which adhere to ADB's priority for tackling climate change, building climate and disaster resilience, and enhancing environmental sustainability, it said. "Sustainability is a key driver for international capital markets, and ADB is long established as a regular is

Chhattisgarh's Raipur Municipal Corporation plans to issue green bonds

The RMC is seeking to raise Rs 200 crore. The proposal is in the final stages. And, a detailed project report has been prepared to utilise the funds raised from the bonds, an official said

REC Limited issues first Japanese Yen green bonds worth JPY 61.1 billion

This is REC Limited's 11th venture into the international bond market and the first-ever Yen Bond issuance by an Indian public sector undertaking

REC to raise about Rs 3,500 crore via yen-denominated green bonds

State-owned REC Ltd on Friday announced it will raise 61.1 billion yens (about Rs 3,500 crore) through issuance of green bonds. The bonds will issued as part of REC's USD 10-billion global medium-term note programme, the company said in a regulatory filing. Giving the break-up of each note, the company said a five-year bond worth 31 billion yens will have a coupon rate of 1.67 per cent, a 27.4-billion yen paper with maturity in 5.25 years will have a coupon rate of 1.79 per cent, and another 2.7-billion yen bond having maturity period of 10 years will carry a coupon rate of 2.20 per cent. These bonds will be listed on Global Securities Market of India International Exchange (India INX) and NSE IFSC, the company said. REC said the net proceeds from these notes will be used to finance green projects in accordance with the REC's Green Finance Framework and the external commercial borrowing guidelines and directions of the Reserve Bank of lndia (RBI). REC, under the Ministry of Power,

IIFCL plans to garner Rs 2,000 crore via maiden green bonds in 6 months

India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL) is planning to raise Rs 2,000 crore through its maiden green bonds in the next six months to fund sustainable projects. It could be a mix of both domestic and foreign issuances, depending on the cost of funds, IIFCL managing director P R Jaishankar told PTI. The state-owned infrastructure financier said it is exploring options of yen-denominated green bonds, he said, adding, it may happen in this quarter or the first quarter of the next financial year. "Sustainable green bonds are one of our major lookouts and yen is one major currency that we are considering, and we are also looking at other currencies, but it will all depend on how cost-effective it is, including the hedging cost and the overall cost of borrowings," he said. "If the domestic environment gives us a better option then we will go with domestic. If yen gives a better return, we will go with yen." he said. This is part of the company's aim to diversify its borrowing ..

State Bank of India concludes placement of $250 million green bond

This is part of SBI's $10 billion medium-term note program and was raised through private placement facilitated by the lender's London branch

Global green bonds mark second-busiest month of 2023 as issuers pounce

Issuance of all kinds of ESG bonds - green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds, or SLBs - jumped to $82.6 billion in November, up from $55.9 billion in October

Sovereign green bonds for NRIs offer credit-risk-free returns in long term

Investors should be mindful of exchange rate risk and limited liquidity in secondary market

Rs 5,000 cr sovereign green bond sale to test demand amid higher rates

The debut sale in January raised 80 billion rupees, garnering a so-called greenium of six basis points over the benchmark yield

FY24 sovereign green bonds for investments by NRI added to FAR list

The government plans to borrow Rs. 20,000 crore through green bonds in the current financial year

Green finance market size could be $5.6 trn by 2047

India's commitment to the Paris Accord is not just a survival goal. It's India's opportunity to catapult itself among the "Great Powers"

EU approves world's first green bond standards to avoid greenwashing

Europe is the world's biggest issuer of green bonds, accounting for more than half of global volume in 2021, though issuance is still only 3% to 3.5% of the overall bond market

Nabard plans to raise Rs 5,000 crore through green bonds in H2FY24

Shaji K V, chairman of Nabard, said the organisation is now focusing on documenting the impact and, in turn, ensuring transparency

30-year sovereign green bonds may attract insurance companies, not banks

A report by Nomura expressed disappointment at the government's sporadic issuance of green bonds, stating it has led to a relative lack of liquidity in these securities

REC to increase loan portfolio of green projects to over Rs 3 trn by 2030

State-owned REC Ltd Chairman and Managing Director Vivek Kumar Dewangan on Wednesday stressed on the commitment to increase its loan book of green projects by ten times to more than Rs 3 lakh crore by 2030. Dewangan chaired the annual general meeting on Wednesday, which was attended by all directors on the board of the company. Many shareholders were present at the meeting through video conferencing. At AGM he said, "REC is committed to increase its present loan portfolio of Green Projects to the extent of more than ten times by the year 2030 amounting to Rs 3 lakh crore." The REC has been known for its rural electrification efforts; now it would be known for its Renewable Energy (RE) focused initiatives including solar, wind, hybrid and e-mobility projects, as well as new areas like green hydrogen, green amonia projects, round the clock projects involving bundling of RE with thermal power and ethanol manufacturing, he pointed out. He also said that while reposing faith in REC, th

Govt may not issue green bonds this fiscal due to lack of premium

"The government is not very keen to issue green bonds because of a lack of premium for such issuances. It had hoped for over 20 basis points of premium in the first auction," said the official

PFRDA to allow funds to invest in sovereign green bonds: Chairman Mohanty

Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Chairman Deepak Mohanty on Tuesday said the regulator will allow pension funds to invest in sovereign green bonds. The government is expected to issue sovereign green bonds in the second half of the current financial year as part of the overall market borrowing programme. Last financial year, the government raised Rs 16,000 crore from the maiden issuance of Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrBs) for funding public sector projects seeking to reduce carbon emissions. The regulator will allow pension fund to invest in sovereign green bonds as and when issued, Mohanty said. Currently, there are 10 pension fund managers that manage funds under the National Pension System. Talking about Atal Pension Yojana (APY) saturation drive, Mohanty said 29 lakh new subscribers have been enrolled under the scheme during the first quarter of the current financial year. The regulator has set a target of 1.3 crore new subscribers to be added under the

REC Limited lists $750-mn green bonds on int'l stock exchanges at GIFT City

With this listing, the cumulative ESG labelled bonds listed on IFSC exchanges has crossed $10 billion," Srinivas said.

Bumpy ride ahead for green deposits with questions raised about workability

The RBI's framework for green deposits is well meant but raises many questions on its workability