17 August, 2016
NTPC Limited, India’s largest power utility company, has now completed its landmark Indian Rupee denominated 20 billion Green Masala bond issue where Allen & Overy advised the lead managers.
The bond is the first of its kind and is dual listed on the London and Singapore Stock Exchanges. Issuance was Indian Rupee denominated but settled in U.S. dollars, to provide investors with exposure to the local currency.
The green bond was certificated by the Climate Bonds Initiative (a non-profit organisation working to mobilise debt capital markets for climate change solutions) and verified by an independent assurance statement.
The proceeds of the bond issue will be used to fund eligible green projects and allocations will be made under the issuer’s green bond framework. NTPC intends to use up to 80% of the bond proceeds to fund solar projects and the remaining 20% for wind projects. An independent assurance provider will certify the annual updates by NTPC on the use of the proceeds of the bond.
U.S. securities partner Amit Singh led the Allen & Overy team from Hong Kong with support from lawyers David Cameron, Peter Crossan, Michele Discepola, Sara Jahodova, Debolina Saha and Ming Wei Loo. The lead managers on the transaction were Axis Bank, Singapore Branch, HSBC, MUFG and Standard Chartered Bank.
Commenting, Allen & Overy partner Amit Singh said: “We continue to see increasing interest in funding for renewable energy and environmentally-friendly infrastructure plans out of India. This issuance is a continuation of that green-bond trend and represents the first of its kind as it’s an INR-denominated green bond, in addition to it being dual listed in London and Singapore.”
“Allen & Overy is pleased to be a part of this trend, having acted on a majority of the international issues of green bonds from India so far. We are pleased to have advised on this transaction and expect to see many more of these issuances from India in the near future.”
The Hong Kong-based A&O team has previously advised on Export-Import Bank of India’s, IDBI Bank Limited’s and Axis Bank’s green bond issuances, which represented the first, second and third international issue of green bonds from India.
