(24 January 2023 – Asia) Issuance of environmental, social and governance (ESG) bonds grossed US$142 billion in Asia Pacific (APAC) in 2022, narrowly below the record US$144 billion of 2021 according to data from Refinitiv.
Reuters reports that sustainable funding held up in Asia during a pause in issuance globally owing to strong local demand. Issuance slid over 30 percent in Europe and the United States however bankers are positive about a strong pipeline of de-carbonisation projects keeping deal flow pushing ahead in 2023.
“Increased issuance in domestic currencies has compensated for the fall in the cross-border market, which was similar to the global picture. We've seen a bunch of ESG-labelled issues, especially in currencies like the yuan” said Barclays APAC Head of Sustainable Capital Markets, Atul Jhavar.