Bank of Communications
The Bank of Communications was founded 110 years ago under the last imperial government specifically for the purpose of issuing bonds.
Its first bond was sold to raise funds to help the Qing Dynasty government purchase a rail line built by foreigners in China. Today, the bank is well known as one of the top bond issuers in China, including in green bonds, where it is a leader, both onshore and offshore.
At the end of 2017, the bank has issued a total of Rmb50 billion ($7.8 billion) of green bonds in the domestic interbank market.
The first batch was in November 2016, when the bank successfully issued the first phase of Rmb30 billion, with a coupon rate of 2.94%. In October 2017, the bank issued the second phase of Rmb20 billion of green bonds, with a coupon of 4.29%. The bonds attracted a diverse group of investors, including state-owned banks, joint-stock commercial banks, insurers, securities houses and fund companies.
Offshore, the bank has helped state-owned China Development Bank issue the €1 billion Green Silk Road Bond in euro-denominated green bonds. It is the first quasi-sovereign bond in the international green bond market, and it will be used to finance green projects related to the Belt and Road Initiative, including clean fuels, public transportation and water management projects. This issuance has attracted attention from investors world wide, including European and Middle Eastern central banks, and was oversubscribed by €2.25 billion.