The Taipei Exchange has approved Taiwan Power Co’s (Taipower, 台電) request to issue “green” bonds of no more than NT$8.5 billion (US$281.1 million), the largest debt issue by a local enterprise this year.
“Taipower’s proposal is in line with the Taipei Exchange’s guidelines for ‘green’ investments,” the exchange said on Thursday.
Taipower plans to use the proceeds from the bond sale to fund a 10 projects, including the renovation and expansion of a gas-fired power plant in Miaoli County’s Tongsiao Township (通霄) and the purchase of new combined cycle gas turbines at a natural gas-fired power plant in Taoyuan’s Datan Township (大潭), it said.
The state-run utility’s investments in Tongsiao and Datan would produce fewer carbon dioxide emissions because of the use of gas instead of coal as an energy resource, the exchange said.
Other projects include an air pollution improvement program at a coal-fired power plant in Taichung and wind power investment in Penghu County, it said.
Taipower’s “green” bonds, which have a maturity of 10 years, are to be issued and traded on the Taipei Exchange from the middle of next month, a statement said.
Taipower is the second state-run enterprise to issue “green” bonds this year.
CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) issued NT$3 billion “green” bonds on the Taipei Exchange on Sept. 20.
CPC said it would use the proceeds to expand its plant in Taichung and build the nation’s third liquefied natural gas terminal.
Overall, Taipower is the seventh local enterprise to issue “green” bonds on the Taipei Exchange. Other enterprises include CTBC Bank (中國信託銀行), E.Sun Commercial Bank (玉山銀行), KGI Bank (凱基銀行) and Bank SinoPac (永豐銀行), the exchange said.
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