Gia Lai Dien has just achieved the first Green Finance Framework certification in Vietnam from the CBI, paving the way to issue green bonds.
Green Finance Framework certified by the Climate Bond Initiative (CBI) to Gia Lai Electricity Joint Stock Company (GEC) in compliance with the Climate Bond Standard.
GEC’s Capital Market Department and TTC Group – GEC’s major shareholder – said the certification is a testament to their commitment to sustainable development and transparency for upcoming green bond issuance activities. Gia Lai Electricity plans to issue green bonds to finance two offshore wind power projects Tan Phu Dong 1 and 2 with a total capacity of 150 MW.
Tan Phu Dong 2 wind power project in Go Cong Dong, Tien Giang of Gia Lai Dien. Image: GEC
The Law on Environmental Protection 2020 defines green bonds as issued by the government, local authorities or businesses in accordance with the law on bonds, to mobilize capital for environmental protection activities and other activities. Investment projects bring environmental benefits. Green bonds operate according to the same mechanism as conventional bonds, but add environmental criteria to the projects being funded.
At the international level, there are two leading sets of principles guiding the promotion of transparency, sustainability and efficiency in mobilizing and managing capital from green bonds, including the “Green Bond Principles” (GBP ) issued by the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) and the International Climate Bond Standard (CBS) administered by the CBI.
Mr. Nguyen Quang Thuan, General Director of FiinRatings – a certification unit authorized by the Climate Bond Initiative – assessed that Gia Lai Electricity achieving the CBI’s Green Finance Framework certification is a prerequisite for growth. and invest heavily in sustainable finance initiatives in Vietnam.
Mr. Sean Kidney, General Director of the Climate Bond Initiative, assessed that this certification of Gia Lai Dien shows the strong development of the sustainable finance market in Vietnam.
“We look forward to supporting more Vietnamese issuers in building a financial framework consistent with international practices and contributing to the process of combating global climate change,” he said.
Before Dien Gia Lai, businesses that successfully issued green bonds in Vietnam possessed ICMA certification. For example, in July 2022, Electricity Joint Stock Finance Company (EVN Finance) issued the first green bond in Vietnam according to ICMA’s Green Bond Principles, with a total value of more than 1,700 billion VND.
Similarly, on October 25, 2023, BIDV became the first bank to issue green bonds according to ICMA’s Green Bond principles, with a scale of VND 2,500 billion.