Thailand launches Asia’s 1st sustainability sovereign bond

Thailand’s Public Debt Management Office (PDMO), in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), issued Asia’s first sustainability-linked sovereign bond (SLB) on November 25, 2024.

The 15-year bond, raising 30 billion baht ($880 million), was more than 2.7 times oversubscribed by local and international investors.

The bond’s sustainability targets include reducing Thailand’s greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent by 2030 and increasing zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 440,000 by the same year.

“This bond reflects ADB’s commitment to innovative financial solutions to support Thailand’s climate targets and commitments, building on our support for PDMO’s first sustainability bond in 2020,” said ADB Country Director Anouj Mehta.

PDMO Director General Patchara Anuntasilpa expressed hope that the SLB issuance would inspire broader adoption of sustainable finance in Thailand’s public and private sectors.

The SLB builds on ADB’s support for PDMO’s sustainability bond in 2020 and was developed under ADB’s Green, Social, Sustainable, and Other Labelled (GSS+) Bonds Initiative for Southeast Asia. It reflects Thailand’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050 and net-zero emissions by 2065.

Credit: ADB

Subediting: M. S. Salama