The Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD) says it will pull the trigger on its maiden USD 500 mn five-year unsecured green bond issuance on Wednesday, according to a disclosure to the Dubai Financial Market on Thursday. The green bond is expected to have an initial price guidance of c.140 basis points (bps) above US Treasuries, tightened from the initially reported 175 bps, according to a document seen by Reuters.

Where’s the money going? Proceeds will finance projects under the bank’s Sustainable Financing Framework including renewables, green buildings, pollution mitigation, and clean transport projects, according to the newswire.

Advisors: Lead managers on the debt transaction include Standard Chartered, First Abu Dhabi, Emirates NBD Capital, JPMorgan, and Natixis, with the latter serving as the only ESG coordinator on the issuance, according to Reuters.

The UAE is incentivizing green debt issuances: The UAE said it would be axing registration fees for firms issuing green debt instruments — including sukuk and traditional climate-aligned bonds — in 2023 to support funding for climate-friendly projects last week.

REMEMBER- Green bond and green sukuk issuances are piquing the interest of financial institutions in our neck of the woods: First Abu Dhabi Bank’s third green debt issuance of USD 600 mn earlier this month was the first sale by a MENA financial institution in a USD-denominated market in 2023. Earlier in April, the UAE’s state-owned Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (Taqa) raised a total of USD 1.5 bn in a dual-tranche green bond issuance that was almost 10x oversubscribed under the company’s new Green Finance Framework.