The South African Unit of the Standard Bank Group Limited (SBG) has issued its first-ever green bond. The bond is worth $200 million and is a 10-year facility that is expected to make a significant impact on its economy to the year 2030. It is also important to note that this is South Africa’s first offshore issuance. The Group’s Sustainable Finance Business Unit aims to use the 10-year facility to raise capital for use in on-lending and also achieve a longer tenor financing for South Africa. The funds raised from this bond would be dedicated to financing eligible green assets, a move that would be implementing the SBG’s Sustainable Bond Framework. One of the eligible assets it would finance in South Africa is renewable energy, which hopes to drastically reduce the greenhouse emissions and combat climate change in the country. The IFC has estimated that the country has a climate-smart investment potential worth $588 billion from 2020 to 2030. The SBG would be tapping into this potential.
SOURCE: VENTURES AFRICA