BGK awarded for bonds issue in Japan
25 January 2024Polish development bank (BGK) has been awarded with RIEF Sustainable Finance Award 2023 for its Samurai bond issue on the Japanese market. The issue totalled JPY 93 billion and was the largest 10-year international yen debt securities transaction in 2023. BGK received the international RIEF award as the first development bank in history.
The BGK’s yen-denominated bonds issue was provided with a guarantee by both the State Treasury of the Republic of Poland and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). Totalling JPY 93 billion, the 2023 transaction contributed to the BGK’s Aid Fund dedicated to supporting Ukraine. It was BGK’s first privately placed issue denominated in Japanese yen and the largest 10-year international yen debt securities transaction in 2023. The transaction had been very well welcomed on the Japanese financial market. Consequently, BGK was granted with Sustainable Finance Award by the Research Institute for Environmental Finance (RIEF). BGK is the first development bank to receive the international RIEF award.
"The RIEF Institute appreciated the fact that the issue of BGK bonds on the Japanese market in a socially significant way, through support for refugees from Ukraine, enabled Japanese investors to make a global investment for sustainable development. We are proud of that transaction and of the fact that it has such a significant impact on the Japanese market - says Paweł Nierada, First Vice President of BGK, Polish Development Bank - – said Paweł Nierada, First Vice President, BGK.
RIEF is a Japanese association specializing in the promotion of ESG financing. The award is addressed to financial institutions that support ecological and socially important financial products, services and initiatives on the Japanese financial market. The assessment criteria include novelty, ESG degree, impact, among others, on customers and society, financial conditions and organizational assessment.
This international award aims to recognize the efforts of foreign issuers to promote issues related to ESG in the Japanese financial market. Previous recipients of the award include: Luxembourg Stock Exchange's Green Exchange (2017), Hungary (2020) and the Philippines (2022).
The award ceremony took place on January 17, 2024 in Tokyo.