Sovereigns soup up ESG push
Before the pandemic, elite names were mostly missing from the pioneering ranks of sovereign ESG debt issuers. A year later, the menu of committed issuers is far broader and innovations are emerging
Moving on: There can be little doubt as to the topic that was front and centre of most everyone’s minds over the past year. The coronavirus pandemic cast a lengthy shadow and dominated all walks of life in ways unthinkable in a pre-Covid world. Governments around the globe implemented various initiatives in attempts to mitigate its effects. And all this came at a tremendous financial cost, leading to fundraising on an unprecedented scale as support packages were put in place.
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Before the pandemic, elite names were mostly missing from the pioneering ranks of sovereign ESG debt issuers. A year later, the menu of committed issuers is far broader and innovations are emerging
Though he is in his 79th year and was dubbed “Sleepy Joe” by his predecessor, President Biden assumption of office had had an effect upon US markets which has been anything but soporific.
The success of the UK’s Debt Management Office’s pandemic-induced fundraising quashed questions over its use of syndications
Fresh from its SURE-fired funding success in response to the economic impact of Covid-19, the European Union is set to embark on a next generation programme that will lift it to one of the biggest borrowers in the bond market.
SSA issuance Down Under was hampered last year by the global pandemic, but this year is likely to see a bounce back with many of the bond sales sustainable.
Public sector borrowers in the Nordic region have been at the forefront of the ESG bond market since its very early days. It would appear to be a leading position they have no intention of relinquishing any time soon.
Strong foreign investor appetite for Ghana's recent Eurobond offering bodes well for other African countries wishing to tap the international capital markets for money needed to roll over debt and to finance strained Covid-19-hit budgets
Latin America's sovereigns have come a long way in a short space of time as far as ESG-related bonds are concerned. And far from any let-up, signs are that this universe will keep on expanding.
“Frontier” capital has come into sharp focus within Asia-Pacific since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic. Debate about the proper role of government and multilateral institutions in the face of severe economic contraction heralds heightened awareness that the relationship between the developed and developing world is being recast.