Global green bonds set another record in 2019 led by China for the fourth consecutive year, demonstrating an insatiable appetite for sustainability-linked financing.

The global bond market topped $173.4 billion in 2019, a 31 percent year-on-year increase, with China swallowing $22.9 billion, or 13.2 percent, of the proceeds, according to Refinitiv data. ICBC was the most active Chinese green bond issuer, raising a US$5.5 billion from six green bond offerings. 

At a broader level, the APAC region issued $47.6 billion of green bonds in 2019, ahead of the Americas’ $29.9 billion but considerably behind Europe’s $95 billion. Southeast Asia also posted strong growth increasing issuance by 55.6 percent to reach $6 billion.

Green Segments

The China-led «Belt-and-Road» strategy continues to pay a key role in green bond growth, with participating nations having raised $57.4 billion in 2019, up 12.9 percent from 2018. China unsurprisingly led the pack with a 40 percent market share followed by Italy (13 percent), South Korea (9 percent), Luxembourg (7 percent) and the Philippines (6 percent).

In addition, non-financial players such as French energy giant Engie, which raised $2.8 billion last year, have been emerging as leading green bond issuers. Energy and power grew market share to 19 percent (from 13 percent last year) after nearly doubling the sector’s issuances while financials’ market share slipped from 2018’s 34 percent to 2019’s 42 percent.