L-R: Haifeng Xu, General Manager of Bank of China Luxembourg branch; China’s Ambassador to Luxembourg, Yang Xiaorong; Luxembourg's Minister of Finance Pierre Gramegna; Pierre Schoonbroodt, Member of the Executive Committee & CFO of LuxSE;
Credit: LuxSE
In the presence of Luxembourg's Minister of Finance, Pierre Gramegna, and China’s Ambassador to Luxembourg, Yang Xiaorong, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) and the Bank of China’s Luxembourg branch joined together today to celebrate the listing of a two-tranche green bond on LuxSE.
The bond will be displayed on LuxSE’s leading platform for sustainable finance, the Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX).
Julie Becker, CEO of LuxSE, commented: “The listing of Bank of China’s latest green bond is yet another important moment in the long-standing relationship between our two institutions, and we welcome the increased focus on green instruments from Chinese issuers. We are proud to serve as the international listing venue of Bank of China, a pioneer that paved the way for the close relations between China’s and Luxembourg’s financial markets”.
This green bond listing is comprised of two tranches worth €500 million and $500 million respectively. Among the ten eligible green projects to be financed through the bond are a wind power project in Northern China made up of 50 wind turbines with the power to reduce CO2 emissions by over 160,000 tonnes per year. In addition, the bond will provide funding for a metro project in Southern China that will have the capacity of transporting over 490,000 citizens between its 26 stations per day and reduce CO2 emissions by 77,000 tonnes per year.
Haifeng Xu, General Manager of Bank of China Luxembourg branch, added: “This successful issuance not only demonstrates that our bank is well recognised on the funding market, but also clearly indicates that global investors are very eager to invest more in green assets. We intend to leverage the productive relationship between China and Luxembourg, and work closely with our Luxembourg peers to tackle the challenge of global climate change together".
The bond issuance was met with significant interest from the international investment community with the bond’s first tranche 2.8 times oversubscribed, while the second tranche was 3.6 times oversubscribed.
Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna noted: “Luxembourg Green Exchange is the leading platform dedicated to green and sustainable bonds in the world. More than half of all sustainable bonds worldwide are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and displayed on LGX. We are proud that investors from all over the world choose Luxembourg and we thank them for their confidence”.
