Serbia Issues First Green Eurobond, Value EUR 1 Billion

The first green eurobond in Serbia has been issued in the amount of EUR 1 billion with a maturity date of seven years and a coupon rate of 1.00%, the lowest coupon rate yet in the international market. At the same time, along with the issuing of the green eurobond, a fifteen-year eurobond of EUR 750 million was issued, with an annual coupon rate of 2.05%, says the announcement published on the website of the Ministry of Finance.

It is added that, with the issue of the bonds, “the Republic of Serbia has joined the ranks of the rare European countries which have issued green eurobonds in the international financial market, and which are meant exclusively for the financing of environmentally-friendly projects”.

– The high level of demand has enabled Serbia to secure favorable interest rates for both of the issued eurobonds. The total demand amounted to over EUR 6 billion from more than 200 investors, which, at today’s auction, enabled the lowering of the interest rate by 0.35 percentage points for the green, seven-year bond and by 0.30 percentage points for the fifteen-year bond. This was preceded by several days of talks between the delegation of the Republic of Serbia and a large number of investors from the whole world – the press release says.

The delegation once again presented Serbia as the new investment destination for investors which exclusively invest in green projects and thereby diversified the investor base.

The green tranche was issued in line with the government’s strategic plan to invest additional funds in the financing of projects in the fields of environmental protection and mitigation of climate change. It will help increase the energy efficiency and the waste management system and enable the most rational use possible of, primarily, renewable energy sources.

The majority of the funds collected through the emission of the second eurobond tranche will be used for the most urgent issues at the moment, namely, the repayment of past debts.

Ministarstvo finansija Republike Srbije

Siniša Mali

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green bonds

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