Bonds & Loans: Spain issues €5bn debut green bond

The Kingdom of Spain has raised €5bn from its debut green bond. The 20-year bond saw more than €60bn in orders including €3.4bn interest from the joint lead managers, and it is expected that the Spanish treasury will tap the issue to around €12-15bn before issuing a second bond with a different maturity. Germany is also expected to re-enter the green bond market today with a new 10-year issue.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) has raised $5bn from a 7-year sustainable development bond. The deal was twice oversubscribed, attracted nearly 150 orders and launched with a coupon of 1.125%. Only 15% was allocated to asset managers, with 47% going to central banks and official institutions, and 38% to banks.

Indonesian palm oil processor Apical has signed a $750m sustainability-linked loan with a syndicate of 22 lenders. The loan, structured as a two-year revolving credit and a four-year term loan, is linked to undisclosed targets based on Apical’s commitment to securing a sustainable supply chain. 

Mondelēz International’s Dutch subsidiary has raised €2bn from its inaugural green bond. Proceeds will be allocated to eligible projects under a number of categories, which align with the firm’s goals of reducing packaging waste and improving the sustainable sourcing of ingredients. The bond consists of eight-year €650m 0.25% notes, 11-year €650m 0.625% notes and 20-year €700m 1.25% notes. 

BBVA has raised €1bn from a two-year social bond. A €4.75bn orderbook from more than 100 investors saw the Spanish lender reduce the price on the bond by 20bp from initial price thoughts to 3-month Euribor plus 15bp, with the wholesale funding team in charge of the operation saying that the market response had “far exceeded expectations”.

S&P Global has warned that social residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) might not stay social for their entire duration. In an FAQ on social RMBS, the ratings agency said in situations where an interest rate jumps after a few years, changing risk appetites or drops in house prices could leave vulnerable borrowers with no viable refinancing option and high interest rates which “are difficult to reconcile with the concept of social lending, regardless of the good intentions at the onset”. 

The Isle of Man has raised £400m from its inaugural sustainability bond. Orders on the 30-year bond, which is only the third ever issued by the self-governing British crown dependency, reached £635m with proceeds earmarked for essential services, clean water and sanitation, clean energy and sustainable cities and communities.

Meanwhile, the UK has appointed the syndicate of investment banks which will sell its inaugural green bond later this month. Barclays, BNP Paribas, Citi, Deutsche Bank, HSBC and JP Morgan will jointly act as bookrunners for the sale of the gilt, the UK’s Debt Management Office said.

UK train and bus operator FirstGroup has signed a £300m sustainability-linked loan with a group of its relationship banks. The four-year deal, which has an interest rate of the Bank of England Sterling Overnight Index Average plus 1%, is tied to reductions in Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions per £1m revenue from its bus and rail operations, and the relative growth of its zero-emission bus fleet in the UK.

Adani Green Energy has raised $750m from a three-year green bond. The 4.375% notes were 4.7 times oversubscribed, with 48% orders from Asian investors and 28% from Europe and MENA-based investors. Adani Green said that the funds would be used for the equity portion of capital expenditure for projects currently under construction.

Meanwhile, Danish renewables developer European Energy has raised €300m from a green bond, which was “significantly oversubscribed”. The four-year bond pays a coupon of 3-month Euribor plus 3.75% and will be used to invest in new wind and solar projects, and the repurchase and redemption of an existing €200m green bond.

Mexico’s CEMEX has launched its sustainability-linked financing framework, where the cost of any future loan or bond is linked to net CO2 emissions per tonne of cement, consumption of clean energy and use of alternate fuels. Coca-Cola Femsa, the world’s largest Coca-Cola bottler, is reportedly also considering a Peso-denominated sustainability-linked bond. An SLB by either issuer would be the first in Mexico’s domestic market.

Swiss insurer Baloise Holding has raised CHF200m (€183m) from its first green bond. The notes, maturing 2030, launched with a coupon of 0.125%, with 57% allocation to asset managers. Baloise is believed to have achieved a greenium of 4bp on the deal.

IDB Invest, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank Group, has provided a $67m financial package to Uruguayan special purpose company Tealov to develop a transmission project. The package consists of an $11.5m loan and a $55.5m B-bond privately placed with Prudential Private Capital. The financing package will allow Tealov, which is sponsored by Invenergy Renewables Global, to expand the transmission capacity of the Uruguayan energy grid, which IDB Invest says is essential for Uruguay’s shift to renewable energy. 

The Climate Bonds Initiative has launched a set of criteria for electrical grids and storage under its Climate Bonds Standard. The criteria, developed for both issuers and investors, lay out the requirements for grid and storage assets and projects to be eligible for inclusion in a certified climate bond.

Israeli specialty minerals firm ICL has signed a €250m sustainability-linked loan with a syndicate of five lenders, with BNP Paribas and MUFG acting as joint bookrunners, mandated lead arrangers and ESG coordinators. The 0.8% interest rate on the five-year loan is linked to a 4-5% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions, an increase in the number of Together for Sustainability qualified vendors in the supply chain and an increase in the number of women in senior management roles to 25%.

The Australian state of Queensland has mandated ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, Deutsche Bank and UBS for a new 1.5% AUD green bond, maturing 2032.

Swedish polymer firm Trelleborg has raised SEK1bn (€98m) from its inaugural green bond. Trelleborg said that the 5.5 year bonds were “highly oversubscribed”, with the bond coupon set to 78bp over mid swaps. Proceeds from the bonds will finance ongoing energy efficiency initiatives as part of the firm’s ambition to reach Net Zero by 2035, with an interim emissions reduction target of 50% by 2025.

Private markets manager Carlyle has signed a €2.3bn sustainability-linked credit facility with a group of lenders. The interest rate on the loan, for which NatWest Markets acted as lead arranger, is linked to Carlyle’s goal of 30% diverse directors on the boards of companies it controls. 

European insurers will increasingly look to sustainable debt in order to meet their ESG objectives, according to a new report from Fitch Ratings. The long term investment focus of insurers means that they are well placed to channel investment into infrastructure, including renewables. 

UK housing provider Stonewater has issued a £250m sustainability bond to help fund the construction of green, affordable housing. Stonewater said that the 15-year bond was oversubscribed, and was issued with an all-in rate of 1.749%. Affordable housing provider Clarion also raised £300m from a 30-year 1.875% sustainability bond, which saw more than £1bn in orders.

City Developments Limited and MCL Land have secured a total of $847m in green loans to finance two sustainable housing developments in Singapore. The loans, split into a $429m loan from DBS Bank and a $418m loan from United Overseas Bank, will fund over 1,000 apartments across the two blocks, and are among the biggest green loans in the Singapore real estate sector.

Filipino energy firm AC Energy has raised $400m from a five-times oversubscribed green bond. The 4% bonds will be used to fund new renewables projects in the Philippines and abroad.