Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) on Monday (Aug 7) marked the successful completion of its first green bond issuance for $750 million 10-year senior unsecured Notes at London Stock Exchange (LSE).
The market opening was attended by Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, COP28 President-Designate and Chairman of Masdar; Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade; Mansoor Abulhoul, UAE Ambassador to the UK; and Masdar Chief Executive Officer, Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi.
Masdar completed a $750 million 10-year green bond offering on the LSE on July 19, 2023, which was more than five times oversubscribed with exceptionally strong appetite from regional and international investors.
This bond is the first part of a programme to raise up to $3 billion to meet Masdar’s equity funding commitments on new renewable energy projects at home and overseas, as it seeks to grow its global portfolio to 100GW of capacity by 2030. Masdar also plans a secondary listing of its green bond offering later this year on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX), the second largest market in the Gulf region.
It marks a historic moment on a remarkable journey for the UAE’s flagship renewable energy company since it was established in 2006 under its founding CEO, and now Chairman Dr Sultan Al Jaber.
Under Dr Sultan’s leadership, Masdar has developed over 20GW of renewables capacity across more than 40 countries, has invested more than $30 billion, and is targeting a 100GW portfolio by 2030. As the UAE looks ahead to hosting the UN climate change conference, COP28, this milestone showcases the UAE’s and Masdar’s commitment to advancing decarbonization and climate finance around the world, Masdar said.
Dr Al Jaber said: “This is a defining moment for Masdar and climate finance and we are delighted to stand on the world stage at this historic market opening ceremony. The demand for green bonds is extremely high and will enable investment in renewable energy projects, many of which will be in developing economies and climate-vulnerable countries. But there is more to do if we are to unlock finance for the energy transition to support the tripling of global renewable energy capacity by 2030. The successful issuance of Masdar green bonds will support this aim, by helping to provide funding towards renewable energy projects where they are needed most.”
Al Ramahi said: “Today we’re proud to celebrate the success of Masdar’s debut green bond issuance, a testament to the pioneering spirit of all the people who have worked incredibly hard over the last 17 years to grow Masdar into one of the world’s leading renewable energy companies. It follows the publication of our innovative Green Bonds Framework, published in March 2023, which received the highest Sustainability Quality Score of ‘SQS1’ from Moody’s Investors Service, and is part of a broader program to fund our ambitious growth plans.”
Julia Hoggett, CEO, LSE and Head of Equities, Capital Markets, LSEG, said: “We congratulate Masdar on the successful listing of its debut green bond on the London Stock Exchange, the proceeds of which will support renewable energy projects. We are proud that our markets are helping to accelerate the low-carbon transition by providing access to capital for companies, funds and governments worldwide.”
Proceeds from all bond offerings under the programme will be deployed towards the greenest projects in the renewables sector, namely solar, wind, renewable power transmission and distribution infrastructure, and battery storage assets, and strict ESG criteria will apply to restrict the eligibility of projects. - TradeArabia News Service