First Green Bonds Issued by TMG Sell Out on Same Day

Image by Konaine Some Rights Reserved.

Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG) issued its first green bonds on November 24, 2016. The bonds, named "Tokyo Environment Supporter Bonds," were issued in Australian dollars at an amount equivalent to 10 billion yen. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike announced at a regular news conference the next day that the bonds were sold out on the same day they were issued.

Green bonds are issued by enterprises and local governments to procure funds needed for renewal energy development and other projects that contribute to the resolution of environmental issues such as global warming. The Tokyo Environment Supporter Bonds were issued under the following conditions: term, 5 years; interest rate, 2.74%, purchase limit, 1,000 to 1 million Australian dollars per person or organization. Targeted purchasers were residents, workers, and students in Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa areas, and corporations and organizations that have their main office in the same areas.

Koike stated that the funds will be allocated to, for example, the introduction of renewable energy such as photovoltaic generation systems, and the renovation of TMG-owned facilities to replace lighting systems with energy-saving LEDs,. The funds will also be applied to projects selected in consideration of their urban greening and climate adaptation benefits. TMG will move forward with full-scale issuance of green bonds in the next year in light of this year's trial issue.