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AIIB reaches new milestone by pricing debut global bond to unlock financing for infrastructure
11 May 2019

London, UK - The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) today priced its first global bond. The five-year bond raised USD 2,500,000,000 and will drive AIIB’s priorities of investing in sustainable infrastructure, developing cross-border connectivity, and promoting Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing in Emerging Asia.

 

The pricing of this bond is the latest milestone for AIIB, now only in its fourth year of operations.  The successful pricing of the global bond highlights investor support for AIIB’s lean, clean and green operating principles as well as recognition of the Bank’s efforts to help its clients meet their commitments under the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Thierry de Longuemar, AIIB's Chief Financial Officer hailed the pricing of the bond as “a landmark transaction for the market,” commenting: “This bond is reflective of investor demand globally for high quality sustainable investments. AIIB’s outlook has always been global with founding members from Asia, Africa, South America and Europe.  We were delighted to see demand from such a diversified group of investors in the book and look forward to showing our global investor base the positive contribution that this capital will have in Asia and beyond.”

The inaugural bond benefits from triple-A ratings from Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch, which reflect the Bank’s commitment to the highest standards of governance, enhanced transparency and accountability. AIIB has a Bank of International Settlements 0% risk weighting and its addition to the European Banking Authority’s CRR list of multilateral development banks was recently approved by the European Parliament.

 

AIIB is committed to best practices and modern risk management; and it has implemented an economic capital and stress test policy framework to manage its capital. This is further supported by a robust policy framework providing for the institutionalization of measured risk-taking decisions by each business line.

 

“The growing institutional demand for fiscally sustainable, revenue-positive projects and support for AIIB’s unique operating model is evidenced by the almost USD 8 billion of financings already approved by the Bank,” said AIIB President Jin Liqun. “By participating in capital markets, we can harness further financial support from a global investor base, which will enable us to catalyze infrastructure investment and accelerate adoption of ESG Investing Principles in Emerging Asia.”

 

AIIB funds will focus on, among other things, high-impact investments that promote sustainable development and climate resilient infrastructure. Examples of projects AIIB finances include metro lines in India, clean water projects in Egypt and Indonesia and bringing electricity to rural residents in Bangladesh.

 

Source:AIIB Official Website