KSA’s PIF completes second green bond issuance of USD 5.5 bn: KSA’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), sold USD 5.5 bn of green bonds in its second issuance of the debt instruments, according to a SPA statement published last week. The funds will be used to finance or refinance green investments — including projects in renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable water management, pollution prevention and control, green buildings and clean transport, the statement notes.

As expected, there was strong investor appetite: The offering was more than 6x oversubscribed, with a combined USD 33 bn in orders, according to the statement. Continued strong investor appetite for green debt instruments is one of several key trends we expected at the beginning of 2023. Green bond demand would likely continue to outstrip supply — including in emerging and frontier markets, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Principal, Local Currency & Capital Markets Development Razvan Dumitrescu told Enterprise Climate late last year.

This is PIF’s second (massive) green bond issuance in four months: PIF sold a total of USD 3 bn in green bonds in its first offering of the instruments — which included the issuance of the world’s first 100-year green note — in October last year. The three-tranche sale drew in orders of around USD 17.9 bn, making it nearly 6x oversubscribed.