The World Bank issued a three-year Chinese yuan-denominated Sustainable Development Bond with a maturity date of February 2026, raising CNH 340 million (approximately US$50 million equivalent) while engaging with investors to raise awareness about the importance of sustainable cities. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11 outlines the challenges that cities face. Gavekal Capital Limited placed the bond. HSBC Bank plc served as the transaction’s sole lead manager.
Building inclusive, resilient, competitive, and sustainable cities and communities is critical to achieving the SDGs by 2030 and the World Bank Group’s goals of eliminating extreme poverty and increasing shared prosperity at the local, regional, and national levels. With cities expected to welcome an additional 2.5 billion people by 2050, the scale and speed of such an urbanisation process, as well as the significant financing gaps that exist today, call for increased investment in cities, particularly when considering the impact of climate change in terms of increased frequency and severity of disasters. The World Bank assists member governments in developing livable, inclusive, resilient, climate-smart, and competitive cities through tailored financing and policy support.
The World Bank issues bonds in international capital markets to support the financing of sustainable development activities in developing countries to achieve positive social and environmental impacts while raising awareness of specific development themes and SGDs across various sectors. This transaction aims to increase public awareness of the World Bank’s work to build green, resilient, and inclusive cities and communities, as well as SDG 11.
“The World Bank has always been one of the market leaders in the sustainability space. As such, Gavekal Capital is pleased to support the World Bank’s CNH-denominated Sustainable Development Bond highlighting sustainable cities. Since being designated as Article 8 under the EU’s SFDR, Gavekal Capital has increased its effort to promote the Sustainable Development Goals from the United Nations. We believe causes toward sustainable cities can provide significant impact, considering half of humanity lives in cities. We look forward to working with the World Bank and other high-quality issuers to launch more sustainable bonds in the future.”
Christine Cheung, Head of Asian Fixed Income, Gavekal Capital Limited