Recently, the first term of green medium-term notes (sci-tech innovation bills or blue bonds) of Qingdao Water Group Co. Ltd of 2024, underwritten by Industrial Bank was issued successfully. The issuing scale has reached 260 million yuan, and the funds raised mainly are used to support the desalination project of Qingdao Water Group Co. Ltd.
It has been reported that Qingdao Water Group Co. Ltd, the issuer, is the largest water supplier in Qingdao, Shandong Province. This company’s Baifa Desalination Project not only brings water to the industrial enterprises within the region, but also serves as a supplement supplier of water for the government. A principle of Industrial Bank said: “This bond will help enterprises to improve their scientific and technological innovation desalination systems, enhance their desalination abilities, protect the urban water supply, optimize the structure of water supply sources and make the sustainable utilization of water resources come true.”
The blue bond is a kind of green bonds. The fund raised by it is used for the developing sustainable marine economy and plays an important role in promoting protection of the sea and the sustainable utilization of the sea resources. Since 2020, Industrial Bank has successively issued the first domestic blue bond and China’s first overseas non-financing regional state-owned enterprise blue bond. Meanwhile, it has successfully issued the first overseas blue bond of China-owned shares, diversified the types of green bonds and promoted development of the green bond market. In 2023, the scale of green debt financing tools of Industrial Bank reached 21.8 billion yuan, ranking second among joint-stock commercial banks.