Canada green bond issuance seen recovering in 2024 after slump

investing.com:

By Maiya Keidan

TORONTO (Reuters) — Canadian green bond issuance is poised for a rebound this year as market conditions improve, after offerings more than halved last year to their lowest in four years, as higher interest rates and tight labour market hindered sustainable projects.

Canadian companies raised $5.7 billion via green bonds last year, down 58% from 2022. Canada's share of the global market for green bonds — a fixed-income instrument earmarked to raise money for climate and environmental projects — fell to 1.3% from a high of 4% in 2020, according to LSEG data.

«I think it's a blip more than anything,» said Guillaume Poulin, managing director of debt capital markets at Desjardins Securities, noting high interest rates led issuers to delay funding while labor shortages made it tougher for projects to get off the ground.

With the Bank of Canada widely expected to cut policy rates in the second half of this year and the government promising its next budget will attempt to create economic conditions to allow rates to come down, green bond offerings are expected to pick up pace this year.

«Over the next few weeks, we're expecting supply to resume meaningfully in Canada. We're getting slightly more calls and more and more interest in trying to figure out if it makes sense or not,» Poulin added.

Desjardins ranked seventh for advisers to Canadian debt capital market deals in 2024 so far, according to data from Dealogic.

Green bond issuance began in Canada in 2014 with just three coming to market but has steadily risen over the years before the rough patch last year. The inclusion of nuclear power projects in the province of Ontario's green bond program this month is adding to market optimism for more ahead.

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