Irish state debt manager the National Treasury Management Agency has raised €3bn from the sale of the country’s first-ever sovereign green bond.
The cash will be used to invest in various green initiatives, including renewable electricity generation.
The 12-year bond was raised with a yield of just under 1.4% with strong demand for the transaction, according to the NTMA.
Around 95% of the deal was distributed to non-Irish investors.
The bond allowed the NTMA to access “a new category of investor and providing a new debt instrument that meets untapped investor demand”.
Some 33% each was sold to asset managers as well as banks, 19% to the pension and insurance sector, 8% to central banks or other official Institutions, 6% to hedge funds and the remaining 1% to other investors.
NTMA funding and debt management director Frank O’Connor said: “Today demonstrates our commitment to finding attractive new ways to meet the State’s funding requirement by diversifying our issuance and accessing a new base of investors to lend to Ireland.
“Sovereign green bonds are an innovative form of finance and it makes sense for Ireland to be at the forefront of developments in this space.”
He added: “Today’s transaction brings our year to date funding to over €16.5bn compared to the NTMA’s stated target of €14/€18bn. It leaves the State well placed before our last bond auction of 2018 in November.”