Beyond green
LGX has displayed green bonds issued by the World Bank for a number of years, but so far has not included any of the World Bank’s sustainable development bonds. Over the past two years, LGX and the World Bank worked closely together to analyse in detail all World Bank bonds listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. This review process resulted in a selection of 174 bonds issued by the World Bank that comply with the transparency requirements and processes defined for financial securities displayed on LGX.
Jingdong Hua, Vice President and Treasurer of the World Bank gave a keynote speech at the Sustainable Finance Forum and ended his address by ringing the bell for the sustainable development bonds.
“The World Bank has twin goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. All bonds issued by the World Bank support the financing of sustainable development projects which are designed intentionally to achieve positive impact. The display of our sustainable development bonds on the LGX platform marks an important step in our efforts to promote and grow sustainable capital markets and advance transparency,” commented Mr. Hua.
Partnering for sustainable development
The cooperation between the World Bank and the Luxembourg Stock Exchange began in 1953, when the World Bank listed its first financial instrument in Luxembourg. In 2008, the World Bank contributed to paving the way for sustainable finance by issuing its first-ever green bond. More recently, in May this year, the World Bank issued a €1.5 billion 10-year global sustainable development bond, also listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.