Johannesburg, 29 June 2021: The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) today listed Nedbank’s R125 million unsubordinated green bond, whose proceeds will be used to fund green residential mortgages.

The bond, which will trade under the JSE code NBG06G, will be floated on the bourse’s Sustainability Segment, which serves as a platform for companies to raise debt for green, social and sustainable investment projects.

The green bond listed today is the sixth tranche of a R75 billion domestic medium term note programme that kicked off in February 2019. 

“This new green housing bond issuance is a unique innovation in the capital markets space which would serve to further drive the green agenda forward as we seek to direct the proceeds raised to support additional financing solutions for consumers buying into green certified developments” said Arvana Singh Head of Sustainable Finance Solutions at Nedbank.

Valdene Reddy, Director of Capital Markets at the JSE, said the establishment of the Sustainability Segment is part of the JSE’s commitment to support the development of a buoyant green economy.

“The ongoing global extreme weather events are a constant reminder of the urgent need to address climate change. We, therefore, gladly welcome this initiative by Nedbank aimed at socially aware investors who are concerned about global warming and keen to play a meaningful role in ensuring a sustainable future for all,” said Reddy.

Nedbank’s Green Bond brings the number of sustainability instruments listed on the JSE’s Sustainability Segment to 23 with a Nominal Issued Amount of R10.5 billion.

A green bond is a fixed-income instrument that has been designed to help companies raise capital for investing in climate and environmentally friendly projects while enabling investors to satisfy critical Environmental Social Governance (ESG) mandates and address climate-risks as a part of their portfolio. These bonds are typically asset-linked and backed by the issuer’s balance sheet.

In June 2020, the JSE expanded the Green Bond Segment into a fully-fledged Sustainability Segment, whereby companies can list social, green bonds, and sustainability bonds on one platform while investors could buy and sell these instruments. 

Earlier this week, Redefine Properties, listed a self-labeled R1 billion issuance for its first sustainability-linked bond.  The funds will be used to refinance upcoming bond maturities which allow Redefine to measurably increase the use of solar energy in the South African portion of its portfolio, facilitating a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and significantly enhancing water efficiency solutions.
The issuance was launched through Redefine’s JSE-approved R30 billion domestic medium-term note programme, raising a nominal R1 billion 3-year unsecured floating rate note that will mature on 26 July 2024.

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