Ireland to sell more green debt to fund environmental projects

[October 09, 2019]  DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland mandated a number of banks on Wednesday to sell more of its 11-year green bond, the debt agency's second foray into an increasingly popular market that raises capital for projects with environmental benefits.

Ireland raised 3 billion euros $3.29 billion) from the initial sale of its first ever green bond a year ago amid demand to issue almost four times that amount and a market source said it could raise another 1 to 1.5 billion euros this time.

Although green bonds make up a fraction of the overall market, global interest has soared as banks, sovereigns and companies look to tap into increasing investor appetite as calls grow for tougher and swifter steps against climate change.

Led by issuance in France and the Netherlands, a total of 8 billion euros in sovereign green bonds were issued in the second quarter, the greatest quarterly change to date, the Association for Financial Markets in Europe said last month.

Ireland's debt agency said the transaction would be launched and priced in the near future, subject to market conditions, language it regularly uses when kicking off a syndicated sale the next day.

The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) mandated BNP Paribas, Barclays, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Danske Bank, Davy Stockbrokers and J.P. Morgan as joint lead managers for the syndicated tap, the debt office said in a statement.

Ireland has raised 12.25 billion euros from its targeted 14 billion to 18 billion euro range from bond sales this year, with one more regular bond auction scheduled for next month.

(Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Louise Heavens)

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