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BT Explains: The complex world of sustainable debt

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Janice Lim

Janice Lim

Published Wed, Aug 17, 2022 · 04:28 PM
    • Sustainable debt now accounts for 10 per cent of the global debt market, according to data from market intelligence company Refinitiv. In 2021, global sustainable debt breached the US$1 trillion mark for the first time.
    • Sustainable debt now accounts for 10 per cent of the global debt market, according to data from market intelligence company Refinitiv. In 2021, global sustainable debt breached the US$1 trillion mark for the first time. PHOTO: BT FILE

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    THE EUROPEAN Investment Bank and the World Bank issued the first green bond in 2007. Since then, the variety of bond instruments that bear labels related to environmental, social and governance (ESG) purposes has expanded to include social, sustainability, transition and sustainability-linked debt.

    Sustainable debt now accounts for 10 per cent of the global debt market, according to data from market intelligence company Refinitiv. In 2021, global sustainable debt breached the US$1 trillion mark for the first time. Issuers in the 10 member states of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) issued a total of US$15.8 billion of sustainable bonds in 2021.

    The Business Times (BT) explains the different kinds of ESG-labeled bonds.

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    BondsESG

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