The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, together with Commercial International Bank – Egypt (CIB), will invest USD 100 million in a “green bond” to support the green economy in Egypt. With this in mind, the establishment announced Thursday (August 5th) that it will issue the first green bonds of the Egyptian private sector. This is to help unlock funding for climate projects.
The country’s largest private bank has said it will increase lending to companies looking to invest in environmentally friendly initiatives. These are mainly green building projects, renewable energies and energy efficiency.
“We are confident that more companies will be encouraged to view green bonds as a viable instrument to meet their financing needs while promoting environmental impact,” said Hussein Abaza, CEO of CIB, adding that “this partnership between IFC and CIB will expand financing options and introduce a new asset class to the Egyptian capital market ”.
For his part, Sérgio Pimenta, IFC’s vice president for the Middle East and Africa, argued that tackling climate change is a priority for IFC in Egypt and, more broadly, in the Middle East and Africa. North Africa.
Separately, the World Bank Group’s private sector entity said that in addition to subscribing to the bond, it will provide advisory support to CIB. This will allow the bank, she emphasizes, to develop a pipeline of energy-efficient industrial transactions and green construction.
