Masdar intends to issue its maiden green bond this year
Masdar aims to raise USD 750 mn in debut green bond sale: UAE clean energy firm Masdar plans to raise as much as USD 750 mn in a maiden green bond issuance to help finance its ambitious global expansion plans, Chief Financial Officer Niall Hannigan told Bloomberg at the Abu Dhabi Sustainable Finance Forum, confirming reports we picked up last Wednesday. The company will likely issue the bonds in 2H 2023, Hannigan added. It intends to move forward “subject to market conditions,” Reuters reports CEO Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi saying at the forum on Thursday.
Annual issuances could be in the pipeline: “Given the growth ambitions we have as a business and the pipeline we have in place, I would be expecting that we’re likely to be an annual issuer,” Hannigan told Bloomberg.
The next steps: Masdar will publish its first green finance framework “within weeks,” Reuters quotes Al Ramahi as saying. Establishing a green or sustainable financing framework essentially lays the groundwork for a green bond issuance, head of MENA Debt Capital Markets at HSBC Khaled Darwish recently told Enterprise Climate.
Two areas it appears to be eyeing closely? Green hydrogen and US investment: Masdar is “exploring” prospects in the still-nascent green hydrogen sector, Hannigan told Bloomberg. The company is reportedly looking at using solar and wind assets to power green hydrogen projects in Egypt, Oman, “and other areas with export and transport connections,” the outlet notes. The firm is also eyeing M&A prospects as a “significant part of [its] growth strategy,” with the US being “an increasingly attractive market,” Hannigan said.
IN OTHER MASDAR NEWS- Masdar is continuing its African expansion: The renewables giant inked two agreements to develop solar projects in Angola and Uganda, according to a statement. The company will build 2 GW worth of solar projects in Angola with the Energy and Water Ministry, and 1 GW worth of solar projects in Uganda with the Energy and Mineral Development Ministry. No financial details were announced for the projects.
Another step in Africa’s green transition: The Emirati renewables giant announced two new agreements in Ethiopia and Zambia with a total capacity of 2 GW per country last week. The Zambian solar projects are estimated to cost USD 2 bn, but no financial details on the Ethiopian project were revealed.
