- South African listed property company, Redefine, has issued their first green bond, with the IFC as anchor investor.
- The green bond was oversubscribed and raised R1.5 billion at an auction on September 16th.
“This bond helps promote sustainability and climate-smart commercial real estate in South Africa, and it was pleasing to note that the bond was well-oversubscribed, indicating heightened demand for companies doing the right thing,” says Ntobeko Nyawo, Redefine’s Chief Financial Officer.
Redefine Properties led the charge towards a sustainable future in the property sector with a R1 billion issuance for its first sustainability-linked bond in July last year.
“Today’s green bond further amplifies our commitment to placing ESG at the heart of what we do,” says Nyawo. “It diversifies our funding profile, creates liquidity headroom and significantly, this bond is structured on a use-of-proceeds basis, which means it will directly finance only highly rated green buildings, which is firmly in line with Redefine’s over-arching, long-term climate-resilience framework.”
The IFC will invest up to R750 million (about $44.1 million) in the bond to support Redefine to refinance its Green Star SA certified assets, which incorporate energy and water efficiency measures.
The green bond aligns with the International Capital Market Association Green Bond Principles. It was listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in the Sustainability Segment, a platform for companies to raise debt for green, social, and sustainable initiatives.
‘This certification does more than simply focus on the resource efficiency of the building (i.e. energy, water and waste); rather, it rates the holistic sustainability features of the asset,” says Anelisa Keke, chief sustainability officer at Redefine.
IFC’s investment will be used exclusively to refinance existing green buildings which have achieved a minimum Green Star 4 category certification.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
