INSIGHT by the Climate Bonds Initiative
Climate Bonds Initiative points a contraction of 32% YOY in the ASEAN GSS+ debt market in 2022, but many positives remain, including increased sovereign issuances and a range of policy and market development initiatives that has further strengthened the regulatory and technical landscape. Volumes also stayed robust at almost twice the level of 2020. Supported by the HSBC, the fifth iteration of the Climate Bonds’ ASEAN State of the Market report series analyses key developments in ASEAN’s green bond and broader sustainable finance market during 2022.
ASEAN saw an increase in deal sizes and tenors – a considerably higher share (71% in 2022 vs. 52% in 2021) of deals were benchmark-size (USD500m+), and the first sustainability bond with a tenor of over 20 years (excluding perpetual) was issued in 2022 in the Philippines[market]. Across the six markets covered (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam), Singapore was top in most debt segments, representing 63% of the cumulative volume and 60% of 2022.
Active year for policy and market development initiatives
2022 was an active year for policy and market development initiatives in the region, with the release of a regional ASEAN Sustainability-Linked Bond Standards, as well as stakeholder consultation on the second version of ASEAN Taxonomy conducted throughout the year, alongside a range of national-level sustainable finance initiatives and measures by respective ASEAN Member States, including but not limited to the spheres of disclosures, transition finance and taxonomies.