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First Abu Dhabi Bank Issues $50 Million Blue Bond It Says is the First by a Financial Institution in the Gulf

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), has issued a HKD 390 million (USD $50 million) 5-year Blue ‎Bond which it said is the first issued by a financial institution in ‎the Gulf countries. 

The bank said the bond, issued via a private placement, was anchored by an Article 9 investor ‎who was seeking specific blue labelled instrument. The Blue Bond is aligned with FAB’s ‎Sustainable Finance Framework 2023, and International Capital Market Association Green ‎Bond Principles. ‎

The Blue Bond issuance supports the UAE Water Agenda 2036 to promote innovation and ‎sustainable infrastructure across critical marine ecosystems. The bank said eligible projects in FAB’s blue asset pool include, sustainable water ‎management (e.g. sustainable infrastructure for clean drinking water), climate change ‎adaptation projects (e.g. conservation and rehabilitation of wetlands, mangroves and coral ‎reefs), sustainable management of fisheries and aquaculture and conservation of terrestrial ‎and aquatic biodiversity.‎

“This Blue Bond issuance is a defining milestone for FAB and a first for any financial institution ‎in the Gulf,” said Shargiil Bashir, Chief Sustainability Officer at FAB. “It reflects our conviction that banks must do more than finance the future and we ‎must actively shape it with the tools available to us.”

Tanguy Claquin, Global Head of Sustainability, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank said the bond is a signal of the region’s increasing focus on aligning financial innovation with ‎global environmental priorities. “First Abu Dhabi Bank continues to set an ambitious standard ‎and pace for sustainability in the Middle East, and this transaction reflects the growing ‎appetite from global asset managers to direct capital towards new frontiers in sustainable ‎finance, such as the blue economy, nature and biodiversity.”‎

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