China can lead world again in green bond issuance if credit restrictions loosen, global standards body says
Climate Bonds Initiative says China is also taking steps to harmonise its green bond issuance rules with international ones
Sean Kidney, chief executive of London-based non-profit group Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), which runs a standards and certification scheme, expected a stronger rise in issuance in China in 2018 after a tepid increase last year.
“I hope to see US$50 billion to US$55 billion of new issuance this year … we think it is very achievable,” he said in an interview on Thursday.
“2017 was a tough time for China, which saw deleveraging for banks that had got a lot of bad debts,” Kidney said, adding banks’ credit tightening led to higher borrowing costs and had a knock-on effect on the bond market.
China loses top billing as green bond issuer to US
The projection is based on the assumption that China would take up a 20 per cent share of the total global green bond issuance of US$250 billion forecast by CBI for this year. That total is up from US$170 billion last year.