Linklaters acted as international legal advisor to Bank of China, Frankfurt Branch on the offering of its US$500m 3-year green notes. This transaction marks the world’s first ever debt instrument issued in accordance with the updated Common Ground Taxonomy – Climate Change Mitigation (CGT). The updated CGT was published by the International Platform on Sustainable Finance (IPSF) Taxonomy Working Group, a joint initiative between China and the EU, in June 2022.
With publicly solicited market feedback incorporated, the updated CGT now includes 72 climate mitigation activities that are recognised by both the EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy and China’s Green Bond Endorsed Project Catalogue. The proceeds of the notes will be used to finance projects in areas such as wind power, energy storage and energy-saving transformer manufacturing in countries including China, Germany and the Netherlands, in accordance with the CGT.
The Linklaters team was led by capital markets partner Michael Ng, with support from managing associate Allen Zhang.
Linklaters’ highly experienced lawyers have supported clients on some of the most innovative ESG transactions in the market, including a host of “firsts”, some recent landmark deals included:
- the first green bond issuance under the common taxonomy for sustainable finance between China and the EU by China Construction Bank
- Asia’s first double ESG bond by Yunnan Provincial Energy Investment Group
- the world’s first sustainability re-linked notes by Bank of China
