China to issue sovereign green yuan bonds in UK for first time

China's finance ministry said on Wednesday it would issue up to 6 billion yuan (HK$6.45 billion) of yuan-denominated sovereign green bonds in London, marking China's first issuance of such bonds overseas.

The announcement, which didn't provide more details, comes after a China-UK economic and financial discussion in Beijing chaired by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng and British Finance Minister Rachel Reeves in January.

The plan for the green bond issuance was first announced in a statement outlining the policy outcomes of that meeting.

"China agrees that it would issue an inaugural yuan-denominated sovereign green bond in 2025 and that this would be listed in London, the first in a programme of Chinese green sovereign issuances in the UK," the finance ministry said in a statement.

In February, the ministry released a framework document on China's sovereign green bonds, calling it an effort to "attract international funds to support domestic green and low-carbon development."

In 2020, China pledged to bring its carbon dioxide emissions to a peak before 2030 and become carbon-neutral by 2060. The following years saw the world's second largest economy increasingly utilising financial instruments such as green bonds to help it achieve its goals.

China is willing to work with the UK to deepen cooperation in green and low-carbon development, Ding Xuexiang, China's vice premier, told British energy minister Ed Miliband in Beijing on Monday.

REUTERS