India is counting on debut sovereign green bond to lower financing costs

The govt has developed a framework to sell the debt in line with widely-used principles from the International Capital Market Association, and is also liaising with the World Bank over best practices

India is aiming to get much lower borrowing costs from its debut sovereign green bond in coming months.
 

Officials want a significant “greenium,” the premium investors pay for bonds that fund environmental projects, according to people familiar with the matter. The government has developed a framework to sell the debt in line with widely-used principles from the International Capital Market Association, and is also liaising with the World Bank over best practices, they said, declining to be named as the talks are private.

A lower cost of borrowing would help Asia’s third-largest economy finance infrastructure and meet clean energy goals, while