MOL to issue Japan’s first green bonds
Japan’s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) has announced a plan to issue green bonds through a public offering in Japan’s domestic market to raise funds for businesses aimed at protecting and improving the environment.
MOL established the MOL Group Environmental Vision 2030 in April last year and designated environment-related and emission-free businesses as core activities in its ‘Rolling Plan 2018’ management plan.
MOL plans to issue five-year JPY5bn ($45m) worth of corporate bonds in August and another five-year JPY5bn worth of MOL Blue Ocean Environmental Bonds in September.
The proceeds will be used for investment in several areas including ballast water treatment systems, SOx scrubbers, LNG-fuelled vessels, LNG bunkering vessels, new propeller boss cap fins, and efforts to use wind more on its fleet.
“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,” the company said in a release.