China Development Bank to issue green bonds for water protection

BEIJING - China Development Bank (CDB), a state-owned policy bank, said Tuesday that it will issue green bonds to raise funds for water resource protection along the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

The bank said it will issue no more than 5 billion yuan ($763.2 million) in three-year green bonds next Tuesday, with no more than 4.4 billion yuan in bonds to be issued in the inter-bank bond market.

No more than 600 million yuan in bonds will be available to individual investors, which can be purchased both at bank counters and through electronic channels, according to the bank. It will be the first time the lender has issued green bonds to individuals.

Funds raised from the bond issuance will primarily be spent on three water protection and treatment projects in central China's Hubei Province, including an environmental protection project on the Hanjiang River in Xiangyang.

Upon completion, the projects are expected to reduce 6,091 tons of dichromate oxygen demand, 5,787 tonnes of suspended solids and 761 tonnes of total nitrogen each year.

The central government has been pushing for the development of green finance in order to seek sustainable growth and honor its commitments on addressing climate change.

The CDB has issued 15 billion yuan of green bonds in the inter-bank bond market for air pollution control, coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and green cyclical development so far this year, according to the bank.

According to credit rating agency Moody's, green bond issuance worldwide hit a record high of $93.4 billion in 2016, rising 120 percent from a year earlier, bolstered by China-based issuers.

China accounted for nearly 40 percent of new green bonds last year, followed by the United States, France and Germany, said Moody's.