The World Bank is launching a Sustainable Development Bond series to raise awareness of the critical role of water and ocean resources.
The bonds aim to raise at least US$3 billion and will provide investors with an opportunity to highlight their support for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that address water, sanitation and marine protection.
The bond series, which supports the World Bank’s strategic focus on conservation and sustainable use of fresh and salt water resources, forms part of the Bank’s issuance strategy to engage investors around the SDGs since their launch in 2015.
The focus for the new series is to support SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation) and SDG 14 (life below water) and follows bond series earlier this year that focused on gender and health and nutrition.
Kristalina Georgieva, World Bank Chief Executive Officer, said:
“Seventy percent of the planet’s surface is water, yet degraded ocean resources and lack of access to safe water negatively affect the lives of hundreds of millions of people. Through this bond series we will remind investors and the markets that we must protect our water and marine resources today for the generations of tomorrow. As the world’s leading issuer of sustainable development bonds, we also offer an excellent opportunity to invest capital towards global public goods.”
The World Bank focuses on conservation and sustainable use of water through two lenses and will look to harness the support of investors that prioritize these areas:
- sustainable water management to ensure access to safe water and water security;
- sustainable use of ocean and marine resources
Arunma Oteh, World Bank Vice President and Treasurer, commented:
“World Bank Sustainable Development Bonds are an opportunity for investors to invest in safe and liquid product as they become more engaged in the purpose of their investment. They are an important contributor in the journey towards sustainable capital markets. Following bonds issued earlier this year to raise awareness for gender and health and nutrition, we are pleased to launch this new initiative and engage with investors around another critical topic – clean water and healthy oceans, lifelines for people and economies the world over.”
World Bank issues first sustainable water bond
The Bank has just issued its first sustainable development bond to raise awareness for water and ocean resources
The Bank has priced a SEK 1 billion 7-year bond, the first in a series of Sustainable Development Bonds issued to raise awareness for the critical role that water and ocean resources play in development around the world.
Swedish investors AP1, SEB Företagsobligationsfond, SPP Storebrand and Swedbank Robur Fonder AB were among the key European institutional investors investing in the transaction. SEB is the sole lead manager for the transaction.
Christopher Flensborg, Head of Climate & Sustainable Finance at SEB said the Bank’s decision to launch an initiative to raise awareness for the health of oceans and urgent need for clean water through their sustainable development bond issues, was very much welcomed by investors.
SEB is seeing increased interest from investors to understand risks around water management and the need to protect oceans, he added. The focus on water and new oceans has attracted first-time investors to World Bank bonds.
Helena Lindahl, Senior Portfolio Manager at Storebrand commented:
"Water is the driver of nature. We at SPP Storebrand welcome IBRD’s effort to issue a bond which highlights the critical water topic. In the coming years, we need to scale up investments in infrastructure related to water tremendously. Raising awareness is a welcomed first step."
The World Bank is the world’s largest multilateral source of financing for water in developing countries, with US$37 billion in water-related investments. This includes the World Bank’s water portfolio of 170 projects worth US$26.7 billion, as well as projects with a water sector-related component totaling approximately $10 billion.
Many of the issues the Bank is seeking to highlight via the sustainable water bonds are set to be key topics of discussion at the upcoming Financial Times Water Summit which is fielding a programme of high-level speakers, including the CEOs of Heineken, Nestlé Waters North America, Mars Foods, Mondi South Africa and the CDP.
WaterBriefing is media partner with the FT Water Summit Opening the Floodgates: Unleashing Returns from Water Investments which takes place in London on 17th October 2018
Click here for further information about the Summit
Click here for details of how to register for the Summit
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