Page 35 - GEORptFeb19

The latest bond, issued on January 3, pays a coupon of 0.000% and priced with a spread of 13bps through mid-swaps, equivalent to +39.9 bps over the OBL 0.000% October 2023, the bank said. The issue will mature on January 10, 2024.
The offer was oversubscribed, with the order book exceeding €680mn, well above the €500mn originally targeted, in response to which the EBRD raised the size of the transaction to €600mm to satisfy demand, while still tightening the pricing.
“For EBRD to effectively open the benchmark new issue market in EUR SSAs [sub-sovereigns and agencies] for 2019 might have been considered a surprise by some, however, the combination of a compelling credit story, a well-established reputation in the SSA market, and the added attraction of the Green Bond format proved to be a compelling formula to galvanise investors at the start of the new year, and EBRD was dynamic enough to take advantage of a relatively quiet window in the market,” the bank said in a statement.
Over two-thirds of the final deal was allocated to investors with a sustainable and responsible investment focus, which, the development bank said, “welcomed this opportunity to add the EBRD name to their EUR portfolios”. The bank also reported demand from other “high quality Central Bank and Bank Treasury investors”.
Proceeds from the EBRD’s green bonds are invested into a dedicated portfolio of environmentally and socially sustainable projects, spanning investments in five areas: Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Water Management, Waste Management and Air Pollution Prevention & Sustainable Transport.
Since the EBRD started issuing green bonds back in 2010, its green project portfolio has grown to include 379 projects worth a total €4.1bn as of September 30, 2018.
BofA Merrill Lynch, Crédit Agricole CIB and Morgan Stanley were joint bookrunners for the issue.
35 GEORGIA Country Report February 2019 www.intellinews.com