Thursday 18 July 2019

Investors keen on green: bond issues raise $350 million for Auckland

Auckland Council has raised $350 million through its Green Bond framework in just over 12 months.

In June 2018, Auckland Council became the first New Zealand organisation to issue green bonds, generating $200 million to fund electric trains. Last week, the council’s second issue of green bonds raised an additional $150 million to fund cycling infrastructure and further increase the provision of electric trains.

Auckland Mayor Phil Goff says the combined $350 million raised through the framework will be strongly welcomed by ratepayers.

“Issuing green bonds is an innovative way for council to raise funds for infrastructure. It demonstrates in a transparent way that the funds raised will be used to promote greater environmental sustainability. This makes the bonds attractive to a wider range of investors keen to promote environmentally positive projects,” says Phil Goff.

“It makes the cost of our current borrowing marginally lower, but we expect the green bond discount will increase as the attractiveness of investing in green bonds grows. The second tranche of bonds saw the price we pay for the capital raised drop from 3.17% to 2.013%, largely because of the fall in overall interest rates.

“In June we declared a climate emergency, emphasising the urgency of action needed to mitigate and adapt to global warming. The funding raised through our green bond offerings contributes to our drive to reduce emissions and create a world-class public transport system.

“Auckland must be an environmental leader and with billions of dollars being invested in Auckland’s infrastructure over the coming decade, we are embracing an environmentally friendly way to raise funding and protect our environment as our city grows,” Mayor Goff says.

ENDS

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