Hana Bank issues US$600 mln in ESG bonds

SEOUL, June 10 (Yonhap) -- Major South Korean lender Hana Bank said Thursday it has floated US$600 million worth of environment, social and governance (ESG) bonds to help support vulnerable and eco-friendly projects.

The dollar-denominated bonds will mature in five years and six months, and carry an annual interest rate of 1.25 percent, or the yield on five-year U.S. Treasurys plus a spread of 0.55 percentage point.

ESG bonds are a type of sustainability debt offering aimed at financing corporate activities in environmentally friendly and sustainable projects.

Hana said the bond issuance has been co-managed by Citigroup Global Market Security, Credit Agricole, HSBC, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Standard Chartered.

Global credit appraisers Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's Global Ratings (S&P) have given Hana's ESG bonds "A1" and A+" ratings, respectively, it added.

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