YICAI｜Lingang Special Area Developer Lists CSR Bond in Hong Kong, Luxembourg
(Yicai) June 26 -- Industry park developer Lingang Group has issued a CNY800 million (USD110.1 million) social responsibility bond on the Hong Kong and Luxembourg stock exchanges, becoming the first such Chinese bond on the European exchange.
Lingang Oasis [HKG: 84524] [LuxSE: HK0001020475] was completed on June 18 and went public today. It has a three-year term and an annual interest rate of 3.15 percent, the lowest rate over the past decade among Chinese non-financial corporate bonds of the same type and maturity, which attracted many domestic and offshore investors to subscribe, with an oversubscription rate of 350 percent.
The proceeds from the bond will be used for an affordable rental housing project in the Lingang Special Area, an economic space in Shanghai's free trade zone. The project, with a total investment of over CNY2.7 billion (USD371.6 million), began construction at the end of October 2022 and is expected to spur over 5,700 apartments covering more than 340,000 square meters by the end of this year.
The issuance of Lingang Oasis enriched global offshore Chinese yuan investors' allocatable assets, drove the Lingang special area's larger-level opening up, and enhanced the Chinese yuan's international development, the state-owned developer noted.
Lingang also introduced overseas bodies and consultancies to review and assess environmental, social, and governance matters for the first time through the bond issuance. Moody's Ratings released a second-party opinion on Lingang's sustainable development financing framework, with J.P. Morgan serving as a consultant for the structure, according to the Chinese firm.
Lingang's industry parks are home to over 18,000 firms offering more than 500,000 jobs. Their annual output contribution exceeds CNY1.9 trillion (USD261.5 billion).