The newly formed Indian Green Bonds Market Development Council held its first meeting today in Mumbai. The Council is composed of across-section of senior representation from banking, finance, insurance, investment banks, stock exchanges and public and private sector companies.A joint initiative of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and the Climate Bonds Initiative,the aim of the Council is to bring together a critical mass of senior representatives drawn from the public and private sector to propose solutions towards the development of a green bonds market in India. The Council will draft a National Blueprint and provide ongoing guidance to government on green finance directions and green bond market development.
The meeting coincided with the release of the India State of the Market Report showing that India now ranks 7th internationally for total labelled green bond issuance and is a global leader in external certification of green bonds. “A couple of years ago issuers weren’t sure whether to label their bonds as green. Today, issuers see the potential of green bonds, and see certification as a ‘must-have.'”Gaurav Bhagat, Head, Capital Markets, FIG, South Asia, Standard Chartered
“ExIm Bank of India’s business model is significantly dollarised and we raise long duration USD funds from the market. Apart from the bond market, we are happy to engage in long duration swaps whereby we take on the USD leg of other Indian issuers in return for competitively priced Rupees (we are AAA rated domestically), thus effectively serving as an FX hedging facility for Indian issuers for up to 20 years.”David Rasquinha, Deputy Managing Director, ExIm Bank of India
“We are in touch with most of corporate issuers in the country and they are now primarily focused on the benefits green bonds bring to their bottom line, rather than the costs.”Asish Sable, Senior Vice President & Group Head of Debt Capital Markets, SBI Capital Markets Limited
“The formation of this Market Development Council is a positive step forward in developing the green finance sources and investment pipelines India needs to meet its national infrastructure and climate mitigation goals. Bringing together major participants is a crucial step in the right direction.”Sean Kidney, CEO, Climate Bonds Initiative
“FICCI sees a huge potential in unlocking private capital through green bonds. The coverage of green bonds can be quite wide, ranging from clean energy, energy efficiency to water, waste management, sustainable transport and green buildings. The timing is opportune given the huge impetus of the government on sustainable development.” Rita Roy Choudhury, Senior Director and Head – Environment, Climate Change, Renewable Energy and Water Division, FICCI
The members of the Indian Green Bonds Market Development Council include: Adani Group, Axis Bank Ltd, Barclays Bank, Bombay Stock Exchange, CDPQ (the Canadian Pension Fund), Climate Bonds Initiative, CLP India, EESL, Exim Bank of India, FICCI, HDFC, HSBC,ICICI Bank, ICICI Prudential, ICRA, IDFC, IFMR Capital, IREDA,Kiran Energy,L&T Financial Services,NTPC, SBI Capital Markets,SBI Life Insurance,Standard Chartered,Tata Cleantech Capital Limited,Trust Group,and Yes Bank.
