OPEC Fund mobilises $1B to finance sustainable development projects
The bond from OPEC Fund attracted interest from investors in Europe, Middle East and Africa, followed by Asia-Pacific and North America.
The OPEC Fund for International Development has launched its inaugural benchmark bond issue worth $1 billion in the capital markets.
The three-year fixed-rate sustainability bond will be used to finance or refinance important sustainable development projects, which align with OPEC Fund’s multi-sectoral development mission and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), said a note.
The bond attracted the most amount of interest from investors in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), followed by Asia-Pacific and North America, according to Emirates News Agency.
The bond was priced using OPEC’s SDG bond framework, and Credit Agricole CIB was the sustainability advisor.
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The OPEC Fund finances development projects in low- and middle-income countries.
The bond proceeds will be allocated according to the specific criteria defined in the SDG bond framework. The focus areas will be education, employment, food security, healthcare, infrastructure, and renewable energy.
The framework is in line with Green Bond Principles 2021, Sustainability Bond Guidelines 2021, and Social Bond Principles 2021, published by the International Capital Market Association.
The increased financial resources will enable OPEC to improve delivery in partner countries and boost their development impact, especially with increased credit strength from global investors, said Tarek Sherlala, Assistant Director-General, Financial Operations, OPEC Fund.
Edited by Swetha Kannan