Bangkok, Thailand, March 15 —IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, was awarded the prestigious Thepthong Award for its efforts in leading green investments in Thailand. This comes on the heels of the 2019 Green Bond Pioneer Awards as the Green Bond Development Bank of the Year at the Climate Bonds Initiative event in London last week.
The Thepthong Award is awarded by the Broadcaster's Association of Thailand under the Royal Patronage of His Majesty, the King of Thailand. IFC was awarded in a category which recognizes an organization’s contributions towards society’s development.
“IFC is honored to receive the Thepthong Award,” said Vikram Kuman, IFC Country Manager for Myanmar and Thailand. “Green finance and expanding financing to climate-friendly projects is transforming global financial markets. IFC’s work with banks in Thailand not only plays an important role in advancing green investments in the country, but also in the region. Developing the capacity of Thai banks in the area green finance will directly improve the sustainability of investment, particularly infrastructure, in the broader South East Asia region.”
In June last year IFC was the sole investor of the $60 million green bond issued by TMB Bank, one of the country’s leading banks. Other market players such as Kasikornbank and B Grimm Power replicated the initiative and issued sustainability and climate bonds. Earlier this month, TMB Bank was recognized as a Green Bond Pioneer by the Climate Bond Initiative in London. At the same event, IFC was recognized as the Green Bond Development Bank of the Year.
This week, IFC shared its knowledge and expertise in the green investments space through two Green Bonds Executive Education Courses, which were held in Bangkok for the first time. The courses provided a thorough and application oriented introduction to the essentials of green bonds. In addition, they will help Thai bankers, legislators and other actors to learn more about developing and offering green financial products, and help grow the green investments space in Thailand and in neighboring countries.
The courses were offered by IFC and ICMA (International Capital Markets Association) with support from SECO (Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs), SIDA (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) and the Luxembourg Ministry of Finance.
IFC is a leading provider of climate-related financing among international development banks. In the fiscal year that ended in June 2018, it committed $8.4 billion in such financing to businesses in emerging markets—including a record $4.5 billion mobilized from other investors. This financing accounted for a record 36 percent of IFC’s overall investments for the year. IFC has helped catalyze the green bond market since 2010, helping address the massive need in global and regional infrastructure funding. To date, IFC has issued 139 green bonds for around $9 billion in 16 currencies
About IFC
IFC—a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work with more than 2,000 businesses worldwide, using our capital, expertise, and influence to create markets and opportunities in the toughest areas of the world. In fiscal year 2018, we delivered more than $23 billion in long-term financing for developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org
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