ADB’s first gender bonds raise $1.14 billion

MANILA, Philippines — Asian Development Bank (ADB) has raised $1.14 billion from its first gender bond issuance to support its gender equality programs in  Asia-Pacific.

ADB launched back-to-back gender bonds, raising $596 million from the sale of seven-year bond in the Canadian dollar maple market and  $542 million from the sale of 4.5-year bond in the Australian dollar kangaroo market.

ADB treasurer Pierre Van Peteghem said the gender bond issuance would help support ADB projects that promote gender equality and women’s leadership.

“These efforts are even more imperative as we recognize that women and girls are among the groups most severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

Accelerating progress in gender equality in Asia- Pacific is one of the seven operational priorities in ADB’s Strategy 2030.

The seven-year bond has a coupon rate of 1.5 percent per annum payable semi-annually with a maturity date on May 4, 2028. It was priced at 99.393 percent to yield 39.3 basis points above the Canadian government bond due June 2028.

On the other hand, the 4.5-year bond has a coupon rate of 0.8 percent per annum payable semi-annually with a maturity date on Nov. 6, 2025. It was priced at 99.859 percent to yield 21.95 basis points above the Australian government bond due November 2025.

The transactions were led-managed by CIBC World Markets Inc., RBC Capital Markets, Scotiabank, TD Securities and Nomura Holdings Inc.

ADB said gender equality is critical in socioeconomic development and it is imperative to contribute to efforts of accelerating gender equality outcomes in the region.

ADB has committed to supporting gender equality through gender-inclusive project designs in at least 75 percent of its operations by 2030.

The multilateral lender has issued more than $3.6 billion in thematic bonds across various themes, including gender, health, and education in response to investor demand to support environment, social and governance goals.