Chi Mei Corp (奇美實業), a supplier of plastic and rubber materials, yesterday issued NT$5 billion (US$162.9 million) in green bonds, making it the largest issuer of green bonds in the history of Taiwan’s private non-financial sector.
After ceremonially beating a gong at the Taipei Exchange, Chi Mei president Chao Lin-yu (趙令瑜) said the company would use the proceeds for four projects involving solar power, cogeneration, waste management and reuse of effluent.
Costing about NT$2.5 billion, the cogeneration project — which simultaneously produces electricity and heat — has received 50 percent of its required funds, Chi Mei project manager Vincent Lin (林丕淇) said, adding that solar power plans would cost about NT$1.2 billion.
By setting up solar power panels at six rooftop locations and ground panels at a farm, Chi Mei would be able to generate 30 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of green power per year, while the cogeneration facilities, once completed, would generate 90 percent of the electricity the company needs, making it self-sufficient, Chi Mei said.
The interest rate for the green bonds is set at 0.85 percent, which is better than the interest rate for publicly issued bonds, Lin said.
The projects are expected to be completed by 2020, helping Taiwan reduce carbon emissions by 180,000 tonnes per year, said Shih Ang-ting (施昂廷), an associate director at KPMG, which provides assurance services for the green bond issuer.
Green bonds have been issued in 19 instances in Taiwan, to companies in the state-owned sector, the private financial sector and the private non-financial sector.
However, the Climate Bonds Initiative, a non-profit international organization that focuses on accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy, last month excluded some green bonds issued by state-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Taiwan Power Co (台電) from its list of qualifying issuances, because they did not conform to its standards.
Shih said the issuance of the Chi Mei bonds corresponds with the standards published by the Taipei Exchange.
In the private non-financial sector, Chi Mei’s green bond issuance came after Far Eastern New Century Corp (遠東新世紀) in January issued NT$3 billion in green bonds and Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運) in June issued NT$2 billion, Taipei Exchange data showed.
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