Hong Kong Green Bond Market Briefing 2020

The Hong Kong Green Bond Market Briefing 2020 provides an analysis of green bond and loan activity in Hong Kong for the year 2020, detailing issuance volumes, sector allocations, and the broader sustainable finance ecosystem including the Greater Bay Area.

• In 2020, Hong Kong saw its highest number of deals to date, although the total volume of aligned green bonds and loans decreased by 18% compared to 2019, totaling USD 2.09bn. This decline was attributed to the issuance of smaller-sized deals. The market was dominated by government-backed entity MTR Corp, which was the most prolific issuer in both volume (USD 1.5bn) and number of bonds (7).
• Low-Carbon Buildings remained the primary theme for proceed allocations in 2020, though its share dropped to 36% (USD 745m) from 61% (USD 1.6bn) in 2019. Transport followed as the second largest category at 26% (USD 550m), while Waste reached a record-high allocation of over 19% (USD 394m).
• External review was universal for all 2020 green bond and loan issuances, with 100% of the volume benefiting from Second Party Opinions (SPOs). Sustainalytics was the dominant reviewer, accounting for 98% of the issuance amount (USD 2.04bn), while CICERO reviewed the remaining USD 50m from HSBC.
• Using the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) methodology, which counts bonds where the majority of arranging activities occur in Hong Kong, USD 12bn of green debt was arranged and issued in the city in 2020, including USD 1.3bn in green loans. Cumulative green debt issuance reached over USD 38bn by the end of 2020. Mainland China entities drove this market, accounting for 60% (USD 7bn) of the 2020 total.
• Green bond issuance from Greater Bay Area (GBA)-domiciled issuers fell by 51% year-on-year to USD 3.1bn in 2020. Within the GBA, Buildings were the dominant theme, representing 44% of the total volume, followed by Transport (20%) and Energy (14%).
• The HKSAR government has issued USD 3.5bn in green bonds to date and announced plans to issue approximately USD 23bn (HKD 175.5bn) over the next five years. This follows the announcement by Chief Executive Carrie Lam in November 2020 of a goal for Hong Kong to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.

APA

Lau, I., & Lonikar, P. (2021). Hong Kong Green Bond Market Briefing 2020. Climate Bonds Initiative. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Hong-Kong-Green-Bond-Market-Briefing-2020.pdf

Chicago

Lau, Ivy, and Prashant Lonikar. Hong Kong Green Bond Market Briefing 2020. Climate Bonds Initiative, 2021. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Hong-Kong-Green-Bond-Market-Briefing-2020.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Lau |first1=Ivy |last2=Lonikar |first2=Prashant |title=Hong Kong Green Bond Market Briefing 2020 |publisher=Climate Bonds Initiative |date=May 2021 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Hong-Kong-Green-Bond-Market-Briefing-2020.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lau2021hong, author = {Lau, Ivy and Lonikar, Prashant}, title = {{Hong Kong Green Bond Market Briefing 2020}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2021}, month = may, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Hong-Kong-Green-Bond-Market-Briefing-2020.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }