Stockholm (NordSIP) – After an extraordinarily eventful 2020, the Swedish Krona green bond market started 2021 confidently. The last 40 days have seen SEK8.75 billion green and social bonds issued via 30 different transactions by 17 different entities, mainly real estate companies and sovereigns, supranationals and agencies (SSAs).
The dominant participants are Swedish real estate companies, such as Kungsleden, Klövern, Fabege, Humlegården and Corem. Most recently, Corem issued a SEK200 million three-year green bond. The bonds were priced at a 100.75 premium, corresponding to a 324 basis points above the 3-month STIBOR. Following this bond, the issuer has completed SEK1.4 billion of its SEK2 billion framework. Nordea was the financial advisor for this transaction. According to Corem, the issue proceeds will be used to finance and refinance green properties as well as investments in energy efficiency improvements. Among SSAs
Among SSAs, the most prominent contribution came from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), which issued a SEK2 billion eight-year green bond on January 29th. The bond offers an annual coupon of 0.250% and was priced to yield 0.313%. Swedish investors made up the majority of investors in the transaction with pension funds, insurance funds and asset managers accounting for 84% of participation and SEB was the sole lead manager for this transaction. Other SSAs include the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Swedish Export Credit Corporation (SEK), which have issued SEK1 billion and SEK500 million during the first two weeks of January, respectively. At the subnational level, the Region of Stockholm and the Örebro Kommun also issued a SEK1.5 billion in total.
Beyond SSAs and real estate companies, the most salient transaction in the market was the SEK1.25 billion in four-year inaugural green bond by truck manufacturer Scania in the middle of January, with the support of Nordic banks, insurance companies and pension fund managers. “The great interest in our green bond confirms the financial community’s willingness to enter into the partnerships needed to phase out fossil dependence in the world. At the same time, it also confirms the financial community’s confidence in our work to drive the transition to a sustainable transport system,” says Scania’s Chief Financial Officer Johan Haeggman.
Image by Markéta Machová from Pixabay
