Linklaters advises China Construction Bank on its landmark multi-branch ESG bond issuance

Linklaters advised China Construction Bank on its landmark multi-branch environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) bond issuance raising approximately US$2.4bn. The China Construction Bank ESG bonds represent the first ever sustainability-linked bonds from a PRC issuer and an Asian financial institution. The issuance includes specific performance targets to increase the proportion of green loans to total loans.

The Linklaters team was led by capital markets partner Terence Lau.

The emergence of sustainability-linked bonds presents an exciting opportunity for Asian issuers looking for innovative ways to raise funds for general corporate purposes, while demonstrating their commitment to meet specific ESG targets. 

Linklaters has acted on some of the highest profile and complex transactions in the ESG bond market in Asia, including recently advising on UltraTech Cement’s US$400m sustainability-linked bonds - the first sustainability-linked bonds in South Asia, as well as a prominent Hong Kong SAR real estate company’s US$200m sustainability-linked bonds issuance, representing the world’s first US dollar sustainability-linked bonds by a real estate company.