The Government of Thailand, supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), has completed the issuance of Asia and the Pacific’s first sovereign sustainability-linked bond incorporating a nature-related indicator.
The 15-year bond, issued on 17 September, raised 25 billion baht ($750 million / £562 million), expanding on an initial target of 15 billion baht following strong domestic and international investor demand that saw total subscriptions reach 2.8 times the planned issue amount.
Proceeds from the bond are tied to two key national sustainability targets aligned with international climate commitments:
- Emissions reduction: Capping net greenhouse gas emissions below 152 million metric tonnes of CO₂ equivalent by 2035, representing a 47 per cent reduction from 2019 levels.
- Biodiversity conservation: Effectively managing and conserving at least 30 per cent of Thailand’s terrestrial and inland water protected areas by 2030.
The transaction builds on Thailand’s inaugural green bond issuance in 2024 by introducing a formal nature-related key performance indicator (KPI) to link public sovereign debt directly to verified ecosystem outcomes.
ADB Country Director for Thailand Aaron Batten stated that the transaction establishes a model for using capital markets to deliver measurable biodiversity and mitigation targets. He added that the issuance supports ADB’s broader initiative to mobilise $30 billion through regional capital markets by 2030.
Technical support was delivered via ADB’s Green, Social, Sustainability, and Other-labelled (GSS+) Finance Initiative—a joint effort between the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility and the Asian Bond Markets Initiative—alongside the Nature Solutions Finance Hub.
