The federal government this week raised $ 5 billion from investors in its first sale of a so-called green bond, an increasingly popular investment vehicle that promises to combat climate change while also earning money.
Ottawa announced its plans to issue green bonds in the 2021 federal budget, but the first current sale of a federal government-backed bond closed on Tuesday.
“During the time I was an environmental activist, you had to persuade people to pay attention to climate change,” Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said on Wednesday.
“Those days are pretty much over. Today’s announcement is proof that an economic win is an environmental win.”
The bond offering raised $ 5 billion worth of bonds maturing in December 2029. The bonds had a 2.25 percent coupon on them, meaning they would pay investors as much each year for the next 7.5 years before their initial investment is repaid. 2029
This yield is about 0.02 percentage points lower than what regular government debt offers of a similar time frame, which means that debt holders are willing to get a slightly worse deal on their yield, due to the environmental benefits of the investment.
“It was a modest greenium for the deal, which was well-received by national and international investors,” said Trevor Bateman, head of credit research at CIBC Asset Management.
Green bonds have become increasingly popular among investors looking for secure returns in infrastructure and other projects that reduce concerns about sustainability. While Canadian companies including Enbridge and Telus have issued their own green bonds, this week’s offer is the first such bond issued by the federal government.
Funds will be paid for environmentally friendly projects
The funds will be used to pay for things like renewable energy projects, clean transportation initiatives, wastewater management and other initiatives, according to a publication.
Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault said the bond offer was twice as popular as expected, with more than $ 11 billion worth of purchase orders coming in – enough to make it the largest Canadian dollar-denominated green bond ever. The government sold the bonds to 98 different investors, almost half of whom came from outside Canada.
Ryan Goulding, who manages bonds at Vancouver-based investment firm Leith Wheeler, managed to get some of them for his client portfolios, and he said he was not surprised to see strong demand.
“We knew the order book was huge. If at all, I would have expected more international buyers … because ESG mandates are really dominated by Europe,” he said, referring to Environment, Social Affairs and Governance, an investment mantra that money only tries to work in sectors and companies with best practices in those areas.
Interest in environmentally friendly investments has exploded in recent years, he said.
“I always get questions about this,” he said.
“There’s definitely an appetite and it’s definitely grown.”
More than $ 500 billion worth of green bonds were issued worldwide last year, and this year is set to be even higher.
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