Historic launch of China’s first overseas sovereign green bonds

The issuance comprised two tranches: RMB3bn of 1.88% three-year bonds and RMB3bn of 1.93% five-year bonds. Both tranches have been listed on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited, admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange’s International Securities Market, and displayed on the London Stock Exchange’s Sustainable Bond Market. Notably, the London offering spurred strong demand from international investors—drawing a diverse range of participants across various regions. Total subscriptions hit RMB41.58bn, 6.9 times the issuance value.

These green bonds were issued under the People’s Republic of China Sovereign Green Bond Framework, which was released in February 2025. Under the framework, proceeds of the green bonds will be fully used to finance and/or refinance eligible green expenditures from MOF’s fiscal budget, which should contribute to the achievement of one or more of climate change mitigation and adaptation, natural resource conservation, pollution prevention and control, and biodiversity conservation. China’s debut issuance of sovereign green bonds overseas diversified the global green bonds market. It is anticipated that more Chinese issuers will be encouraged to participate and attract further investment in the green financial markets.

The A&O Shearman team was led by partner Agnes Tsang and supported by Jiayin Yu, Eileen Qu, and Kairos Chu.