MOL today announced a plan to issue green bonds (its 20th and 21st series unsecured corporate bonds) through a public offering in Japan's domestic market. It also announced the acquisition of a second opinion (Note 1) from a third-party institute.
Green bonds are used to raise funds for businesses aimed at protecting and improving the environment. MOL established the MOL Group Environmental Vision 2030 in April 2017, and designated environment-related and emission-free businesses as core activities in its "Rolling Plan 2018" management plan. The MOL Group also views responses to stricter environmental regulations and activities to reduce its environmental impact as opportunities to create new businesses and diversify its business portfolio, and address new challenges in technical innovation. To foster a deeper understandings of the MOL Group's proactive initiatives on the environment among a wide range of stakeholders, the bonds are targeted to both institutional and individual investors. This is the first time a company in Japan has issued green bonds aimed at individual investors.
[ Outline of Green Bonds ]
| Serial number of bonds (Retail bonds; second line is nickname) | 20th series unsecured corporate bonds | 21st series unsecured corporate bonds(retail bonds) MOL Blue Ocean Environmental Bonds |
| Maturity of issues | 5 years | 5 years |
| Issued amount | ¥5.0 billion | ¥5.0 billion |
| Issue period | Plan to issue in August 2018 | Plan to issue in September 2018 |
| Use of funds | Allocation to MOL's green projects: (1) Ballast water treatment system, (2) Sulfur Oxide (SOx) scrubber, (3) LNG-fueled vessels, (4) LNG fuel bunkering vessel, (5) New type of PBCF, (6) Wind Challenger Plan |
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| Lead management companies | Daiwa Securities Co., Ltd., Nomura Securities Co., Ltd. | |
| Green Bond Structuring Agent (Note 2) | Daiwa Securities Co., Ltd. | |
(Note 1) Effective July 31, 2018, MOL acquired a second opinion about eligibility from one of the world's leading organization to evaluate and accredit the ESG performance, Vigeo Eiris of France, to secure eligibility and transparency of the green bonds and increase their appeal to investors. Please refer to the following links for details of the second opinion: 20th Bond / 21st bond
(Note 2) The party that supports issue of green bonds through establishment of green bond frameworks and advices for acquisition of second opinions.
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