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UAE’s Masdar launches first $750 m green bond under $3 bn bonds program for funding renewable energy projects
UAE renewable energy company Masdar issued its first $750 million green bond under a program aiming to raise up to $3 billion of bonds to meet Masdar’s equity funding commitments on new renewable energy projects at home and overseas, as it seeks to grow its global portfolio to 100GW of capacity by 2030.
Proceeds from all bond offerings under the program will be deployed towards the greenest projects in the renewables sector, namely solar, wind, renewable power transmission and distribution infrastructure, and battery storage assets, and strict ESG criteria will apply to restrict the eligibility of projects, the company said in a press release.
The debut of the 10-year green bond – which was 5.6x oversubscribed – demonstrates investor confidence in the financial strength of Masdar, which has credit ratings of A2 (Moody’s) and A+ (Fitch), and its strong sustainability credentials. In line with Masdar’s Green Finance Framework, net proceeds from this bond and future offerings will be used to invest exclusively in ‘dark green’ renewable energy projects, many of which will be in developing economies and climate-vulnerable countries that have a critical need for investment.
Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, Chairman of Masdar and COP28 President-Designate, said, “It is vital to make finance more available, accessible and affordable for developing economies if we have any chance of meeting climate goals to supercharge sustainable development. Ahead of the UAE hosting the UN climate change conference, COP28, we must champion initiatives that advance climate finance and decarbonization. Today, the successful issuance of Masdar green bonds will support these twin aims, by helping to provide funding towards renewable energy projects where they are needed most.”
Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, Masdar’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “The success of this debut green bond issuance is testament to the pioneering spirit of all the people who have worked incredibly hard over the last 17 years to grow Masdar into one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies. We are thankful for the trust that the financial community has placed in us and we look forward to the involvement of many top class investors in our journey towards delivering renewable energy and accelerating the net-zero transition around the globe.”
Niall Hannigan, Masdar’s Chief Financial Officer, commented, “The proceeds from our inaugural bond offering will be deployed in developing new renewable energy projects around the world. These projects will make a major contribution towards mitigating climate change, but they will also make a real difference to the local communities they serve, and that makes us incredibly proud. We remain committed to maintaining a prudent approach to funding our ambitious growth plans, which includes maintaining our investment grade credit ratings from Fitch and Moody’s.”
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