KBN helps set new record at Oslo Børs
Thanks to a green bond issued by KBN on 21 November, Oslo Børs can already point to 2017 as a record year for green bonds.
“We have issued green bonds in the international capital markets for some time now and wanted to make an NOK-denominated green bond available to investors. We think our first NOK-denominated green bond was a good start, not least as it attracted a significant amount of interest from Norwegian investors. In line with international developments, we expect the level of interest in Norway in green bonds to increase further over the next few years. Our green bond was priced in line with our expectations and with our international issues”, comments Sigbjørn Birkeland, Chief Financial Markets Officer at KBN.
KBN’s first NOK-denominated green bond raised a total of NOK 1.35 billion, and was issued in two tranches with maturities of 10 and 15 years. Nordea and SEB were the managers for the issue.
“This autumn we have seen a wave of green bonds being listed on Oslo Børs, with lots of new green bond issues including issues by several new green borrowers. We can already say that 2017 will be a record year for green bonds; never before have so many green bonds been listed by so many issuers in a single year. KBN’s new green bond also sends the total outstanding amount of green debt listed on Oslo Børs to a new record high”, comments Geir Harald Aase, Communications Manager at Oslo Børs.
The new record is set by NOK 14.4 billion of green bonds being listed on Oslo Børs.
Increasing presence in Norway
KBN’s new bond gives Norwegian investors the opportunity to fund climate and environmental projects across Norway for the first time.
“The money we raised through the bond will be lent out to finance environmentally friendly projects in the local government sector. It will therefore help finance, for example, Horten Upper Secondary School, which is the first energy-plus school in Norway, Romsdal Upper Secondary School, which is being constructed in mass timber, and a biogas facility in Grodaland in the municipality of Hå”, explains Sigbjörn Birkeland.
KBN is responsible for 46% of the total value of all green bonds that have been issued by Norwegian borrowers. At the end of November, KBN had granted Norwegian municipalities green loans totalling NOK 13.8 billion, the majority of which are to finance projects in the areas of low-carbon transportation, green construction, water and wastewater management, and waste management.