BDO to issue PH’s first ‘blue’ bonds
INQUIRER.net photo
MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines’ largest bank BDO Unibank Inc. will issue its first “blue” bond geared toward financing ocean and marine life conservation, the International Finance Corp. (IFC) said.
In a statement on Friday (April 29), IFC said it will subscribe to BDO’s blue bond issuance, with up to $100 million to be snapped up by the World Bank Group’s (WBG) lending arm for private-sector investments. IFC approved its investment in BDO’s blue bonds last April 27, documents showed.
“BDO’s blue bond will be the first such issuance in the Philippines and the first for the IFC in the East Asia and Pacific region,” IFC said.
“The BDO blue bond will adhere to the International Capital Market Association (ICMA’s) green bond principle and the IFC’s recently launched blue finance guidelines,” it said.
“The IFC will also help BDO identify projects that can be funded by the blue bond while building its capacity in terms of monitoring the impact of these projects. The IFC’s role is likely to further inspire confidence among other investors, promoting market competition,” it added.
“We welcome the IFC’s timely support for BDO’s maiden blue bond issuance, which reinforces our commitment to sustainable finance and allows us to provide more support to critical areas such as water conservation, wastewater treatment, plastic recycling, sustainable tourism, fisheries, and sustainable seafood processing,” BDO Unibank chair Teresita Sy-Coson was quoted by the IFC as saying.
“Marking our two-decade partnership, the IFC’s investment will be key to helping BDO develop a blue finance framework that will allow us to fund projects that support the country’s blue economy while establishing a new asset class in the Philippine debt market,” Sy-Coson said.
“Given that the coastal blue economy is critical to the Philippines, a blue bond instrument will be key to the nation’s growth trajectory,” said Jean Marc Arbogast, IFC country manager for the Philippines.
“By supporting the first blue bond issuance in the country, the IFC continues its tradition of supporting the development of capital markets through issuances of thematic bonds and mainstreaming climate finance in the banking sector,” Arbogast said.
“Moving forward, a robust blue economy will help create jobs and alleviate poverty while strengthening the marine ecosystem in the Philippines,” Arbogast added.
IFC said it was piloting blue financing in the Philippines, China, India, Indonesia, and Thailand.
It noted that a WBG report last year showed that the Philippines was “the third-largest contributor, with an estimated 0.75 million metric tons of mismanaged plastic entering the ocean every year.”
“The nation is also combating water stress with rapid urbanization. According to water.org, more than three million people in the Philippines rely on unsafe and unsustainable water sources and seven million lack access to improved sanitation,” IFC added.
