- Egypt is the first country in the Middle East and North Africa to issue green bonds
- $750 million with an annual coupon of 5.250% and maturity in 2025
- Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Deutsche Bank AG and HSBC Bank plc selected by the Ministry of Finance to manage the issuance, with Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank and HSBC Bank plc selected as green structuring advisers
Linklaters and Zaki Hashem & Partners have advised the Joint Bookrunners and Joint Lead Managers on the first sovereign green bond issue in the Middle East and North Africa region. Egypt issued its first green bonds in the aggregate principal amount of $750 million with an annual coupon of 5.250% and a maturity date in 2025. Egypt has a portfolio of green projects worth $1.9 billion, or about £30 billion. Green bonds finance environmentally friendly projects, including energy efficiency, pollution prevention, clean transportation and new green technologies.
The bonds have been listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and admitted to the LSE’s dedicated Sustainable Bond Market (SBM) which champions innovative issuers in sustainable finance and improves access, flexibility and transparency for investors. Citigroup Global Markets Limited, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Deutsche Bank AG and HSBC Bank plc (the Joint Bookrunners and Joint Lead Managers) were selected by the Egyptian Ministry of Finance to manage the issuance. The Joint Bookrunners and Joint Lead Managers were advised by Linklaters LLP on matters of US and English law, while Zaki Hashem & Partners advised on matters of Egyptian law.
The Linklaters team was led by Richard O’Callaghan (Partner, Capital Markets) and included Cecil Quillen (Partner, Capital Markets), Nicola Minervini (Managing Associate, Capital Markets), Scott James (Senior Associate, Capital Markets) and Tiana Cherry (Associate, Capital Markets).
The Zaki Hashem & Partners team was led by Ragia Omran (Of Counsel) and included Peter Maurice (Senior Associate) and Reem Abu-Zahra (Associate).
Linklaters has been at the forefront of the growth in the green bonds market, advising on some of the leading offerings in recent years, Russian Railways (Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States’ first), Link Real Estate Investment Trust (the world’s first green convertible bond in the real estate sector), the Government of Hong Kong (its inaugural US1bn Green Bond, listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange) and DTEK Renewables (the first ever green bond issuance by a Ukrainian issuer).
Linklaters has also led the development of the sustainability-linked bond market, advising on recent issues by Suzano (the first bond of its kind to be aligned with the ICMA’s sustainability-linked principles published in June 2020), Novartis (the first sustainability-linked bond to incorporate social rather than environmental targets and the first offering of sustainability-linked bonds in the healthcare sector) and ENEL (the first sustainability-linked bond in Europe). Linklaters’ green bond practice and experience spans its European, North American and Asian offices and draws on the support of the firm’s market-leading corporate, environment and climate change, energy and financial regulation practices.
