Power Finance Corporation Limited (PFC) on Wednesday listed its green bonds of €300 million on Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX) under the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE). The listing of the Indian green bonds marks the beginning of the admission of Indian securities on LuxSE.
A cooperation agreement was signed between Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) and the India International Exchange (IFSC) Limited (India INX) on Wednesday at Gujarat International Finance Tec (GIFT) City to bridge the gap between India and international capital markets and strengthen cross-border cooperation in sustainable finance. Earlier in 2020, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed for the purpose between the two exchanges with specific focus on advancing green finance in India. The agreement was signed in the presence of Peggy Frantzen, Luxembourg Ambassador to India.
The PFC's green bonds are already listed on IndiaINX will now also be registered on LuxSE’s Securities Official List and displayed on the Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX), the world’s leading platform for sustainable securities.
Injeti Srinivas, Chairman of the IFSC's regulatory body International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), said, "The signing of this cooperation agreement between India INX and LuxSE is another step towards developing IFSC as the hub for sustainable finance. It is expected that strong cooperation between the two exchanges will increase the investor base for the issuers listed on India INX by enhancing the visibility of such securities to international investors."
LuxSE has international debt securities listed by 2,000 issuers from 100 different countries. The LGX was set up in 2016 to advance the sustainable finance agenda and has since been recognised by the United Nations for its contribution to accelerating climate-friendly investment. LGX currently encompasses 1,300 green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds raising a total of €727 billion for specific green and social projects and sustainable development across the world, a statement said.
‘Wider visibility, exposure’
"Through this cooperation, Indian issuers can benefit from wider, international visibility and increase their exposure to the international investment community," said Arnaud Delestienne, Director, International Capital Markets and Member of Executive Committee, LuxSE.
Venkataramani Balasubramaniam, MD & CEO of India INX said, "The green corridor opportunity established with this dual listing cooperation agreement between India INX and LuxSE will go a long way in attracting more issuers from India and the region and provides access to green capital from international investors." India INX is a Bombay Stock Exchange subsidiary founded in January 2017.
PFC's green bond has a 7-year maturity and secures funding for renewable energy projects in India such as onshore generation facilities for both solar electricity and wind energy.
This green bond follows the admission on LuxSE of State Bank of India’s $650 million green bond in November 2021.