Societe Generale becomes the first foreign bank to issue TWD denominated green bonds in Taiwan

Societe Generale is pleased to announce it has become the first foreign bank to be granted approval by the Financial Supervisory Commission, Republic of China (Taiwan), to issue TWD denominated green bonds in Taiwan. Priced today, the proceeds of the issuance will be used to fund renewable energy projects in Taiwan, including the successful project financing of the Formosa 1 Offshore Wind Project¹, Taiwan’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm.

The total issue size of TWD 1.6 billion is split into three tranches (5-year: TWD 900 million, 10-year: TWD 500 million, 15-year: TWD 200 million), at respective coupon rates of 0.85%, 1.12% and 1.63%. Societe Generale’s Taipei Branch received a long-term rating of twAA+ from Taiwan Ratings.

This landmark green bond issuance will be supporting the sustainability-related actions from the Taiwanese government to accelerate the use of green energy. Taiwan has set itself a target to increase the share of renewables in electricity generation to 20% by 2025, which will include the installation of 5.5GW of offshore wind capacity, placing it at the forefront of offshore wind development in Asia Pacific.

Hikaru Ogata, CEO of Societe Generale in Asia Pacific commented: “With this first TWD denominated green bond issued by a foreign bank in Taiwan, Societe Generale demonstrates its continued commitment to contributing to the financing of a more sustainable economy. By leveraging its structuring and distribution expertise, the bank supports the local development of the sustainable bond market, thus enabling its clients to access capital markets as an additional funding source alongside bank lending.”

As a pioneer in the definition of the United Nations Environmental Program’s Positive Impact Finance initiative², Societe Generale is committed to developing innovative sustainable and positive impact funding solutions for its clients³. In the Asia Pacific region, Societe Generale has established itself as a leading player in the renewable energy space, having played key roles for a number of impactful projects, including the Bulgana Green Power Hub and Beryl Solar Farm projects in Australia, the Hasang Hydroelectric Power Plant in Indonesia, the Sanchuan Energy’s hydro power project in China.

Notes to editors

¹ Societe Generale acted as Mandated Lead Arranger and lender for both the EKF Covered and Commercial Facility, Technical Bank and Hedge Provider for the Formosa 1 Offshore Wind Project, which reached financial close on 8 June 2018, with completion of a TWD 18.7 billion (EUR 533 million), 16-year project financing package supported by eleven international and local Taiwanese banks. The Formosa 1 Project is jointly developed by Macquarie Capital (50% ownership), Ørsted (35%) and Taiwanese developer Swancor Renewable (15%).

² “Positive Impact Finance” is the one which verifiably produces a positive impact on one of the 3 pillars of sustainable development - the economy, the society or the environment - whilst ensuring any potential negative impacts have been duly identified and mitigated. Principles for Positive Impact have been launched in Paris early 2017 with UNEP.

³ Find out more about the “Sustainable and Positive Impact Finance” offering, launched in November 2017 within the global banking & investor solutions’ activities.

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