India's largest lender, the State Bank of India has announced plans to issue an inaugural USD benchmark green bond in the Reg S market. Green Banking and Sustainability have long been areas of priority for the lender and in an early delineation of this approach, SBI had enunciated its Green Banking Policy a decade back.
Through its inaugural green bonds launch from its London branch, SBI is seeking to raise between USD 500 million (EUR 426m) and USD 750 million.
The transaction will likely consist of two tranches and could open for subscription in the next few days, people aware of the development told the newspaper. The raised funds will be used to support investment in sustainable and climate-friendly projects.
The bank has appointed Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, Citigroup, Credit Agricole CIB, HSBC, SBICAP and Standard Chartered Bank to manage the issuance. According to Business Standard, bankers will meet with investors this week. As per the Green Bond Framework, the proceeds from the bonds will be invested in research and development of ecological solutions to make this world a better place for our future generations.
The Green Bonds market as per July 2018 stands at $80 billion against $170 billion against the full year of 2017. The estimated investments in Green Bonds stand at $250 billion.
- Chaitanya Kulkarni
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