China's green bond market goes to internationalization: Expert

London, Nov 18 : China's green bonds market has taken important steps towards its internationalization, an expert in this new financial sector said.

The issuances by three of the largest Chinese banks of green bonds were one of these important steps, Xinhua news agency quoted Sean Kidney, CEO of the international non-profit Climate Bonds Initiative, as saying on Friday.

"The three large Chinese banks -- Bank of China (BOC), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and China Development Bank (CDB) -- all have issued climate bonds, certified green bonds and it is a sign of the internationalization of China's bond market."

Climate Bonds Initiative is an investment industry advocate group with headquarters in London, which is involved in developing the new multi-billion-dollar market for green bonds.

BOC issued a green bond from its Paris branch on Thursday on Euronext Exchange in three parts and in three currencies, one billion Chinese yuan, 700 million euros and 500 million USD.

Kidney said the green bond market was growing and added that China was its most significant player.

"There has been very strong demand from offshore investors for quality green bonds, and the demands for this Bank of China green bonds from international investors reflects that there is an appetite there for certified, quality green issuance out of China," said Kidney.

"The three currencies that this bond has gone to market is evidence of the diversification of China's green bond market in that issuers can come to market with a variety of currencies and are quite easily able to put those bonds away and meet investor demand."

Kidney said the BOC issuance followed two other significant issuances in the past four weeks from CDB and ICBC.

"We see that with China's continued drive on both environmental matters and climate-related matters with greater issuance this year and China among the top issuing nations is likely to continue."

China accounted for nearly 40 per cent of new green bonds last year, followed by the US, France and Germany, said Moody's Investor Services, the bond credit rating agency.