HDB launches new five-year green senior bond at 4.09%, capped at S$1.2b

THE Housing Development Board (HDB) has launched a new five-year green senior bond with a coupon rate of 4.09 per cent per annum, with an issue size capped at S$1.2 billion, according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday (Oct 18).

Offered in denominations of S$250,000, the unsecured bond will pay out its interest on Apr 26 and Oct 26 every year, starting from Oct 26 this year, which is also this tranche’s settlement date.

Noteholders may redeem the bond upon maturity on Oct 26, 2027 at par, Bloomberg reported, citing information from people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because they are not authorised to speak about it.

Net proceeds will be used to finance or refinance eligible green projects under HDB’s Project Category of Green Buildings listed under its Green Finance Framework, published on Jan 13. This includes developing new residential and non-residential HDB projects which are planned to achieve the Building and Construction Authority Green Mark certification of GoldPlus or above.

According to this framework, these projects will commence during the 24 months prior to the issue date of a green bond, or after the issue date of a green bond. The government body added that it will try to allocate at least 50 per cent of the net proceeds to current and future expenditures. 

While it is unclear when the bond was officially launched, Bloomberg noted that the information memorandum had been published on Sep 20.

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The notes have been rated “AAA” by Fitch Ratings and its bookrunners are China Construction Bank, DBS, Maybank Securities, OCBC and UOB.