SEC lists projects eligible for ASEAN Green Bond issue

MANILA, Philippines — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has identified the types of projects that may be eligible for the ASEAN Green Bonds.

The projects are those involving renewable energy, energy efficiency, pollution prevention and control, environmentally sustainable management of living resources and land use, clean transportation and climate change adaption, among others.

However, fossil fuel power generation projects are excluded from the ASEAN Green Bond Standards.

Based on the SEC guidelines on the issuance of green bonds under the ASEAN Green Bond Standards in the Philippines, issuers may use the following quantitative performance measures for the so-called green projects — energy capacity, electricity generation, greenhouse gas emissions, number of people provided with access to clean power, decrease in water use and reduction in the number of cars required.

The SEC approved the guidelines last month. The guidelines set out to adopt the ASEAN Green Bond Standards and provide for the rules and procedures for the issuance of ASEAN Green Bonds in the Philippines.

Following the 25th meeting of the ASEAN Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) in Jakarta, Indonesia last September, the ACMF announced it would take a leadership role in identifying green finance standards that would be applied for the ASEAN region.

This is in recognition of the importance of green finance in supporting sustainable growth in ASEAN, and the increasing amount of global capital seeking green investments.

Toward this end, the ACMF developed the ASEAN Green Bond Standards to facilitate ASEAN capital markets in tapping green finance.

ASEAN Green Bonds are bonds where the proceeds will be exclusively applied to finance or refinance, in part or in full, new and or existing eligible green projects.

Furthermore, under the guidelines, issuers must be incorporated in any of the ASEAN member countries. A non-ASEAN issuer may also issue ASEAN Green Bonds, provided the eligible green project is located in ASEAN.

The guidelines aim to improve awareness and appetite for green financing in the local market, the SEC said.

“While there is already a global impetus to move toward sustainable growth and green financing, there is a significant lack of interest from local companies to issue green bonds,” it said.