India's clean energy pledge gives power to country's green bonds

New Delhi

GREEN bonds issued by Indian companies are gathering pace as the country's ambitious target for renewable energy fuels interest from investors.

Renewable energy developer Greenko Energy Holdings raised US$1 billion earlier this week, making it the largest corporate green bond issuer in Asia, Bloomberg data shows. It beat MTR Corp's US$600 million issue in November. Green bonds from India are likely to increase as renewable capacity expands and the market gets bigger, according to Ashish Sethia, head of research and analysis for Asia-Pacific at Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). Indian renewable energy developers face the highest nominal cost of debt in local currency across key markets in Asia and the Pacific region, and they will "continue to seek avenues to reduce costs, including in overseas markets where investor interest is rising", Mr Sethia said.