In a press release distributed on November 30, 2020 “Symbiotics, the leading market access platform for impact investing, has arranged its first Sustainability Bond, that is also the first such bond in Armenia, by raising AMD 5,283,232,000 (USD 10,700,000) in local currency for ARMECONOMBANK OJSC (“AEB”).
This bond is issued via Symbiotics’ sponsored bond issuance platform (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Bonds S.A.) under its Sustainability, Social and Green Bond Framework, which was certified in December 2019 by DNV GL. The Sustainability Bond will be listed on the Luxembourg Green Exchange within the Sustainability Bond section. The Sustainability Bond proceeds are to be fully used towards a 4-year, senior unsecured, local currency loan to AEB.
AEB has a more than 20-year track record of receiving ear-marked funds from IFIs and DFIs within the scope of MSME-, agro- and women in business financing, while it has launched renewable energy and energy efficiency lending programs since 2015 and is committed to expanding its climate finance initiatives further.
The proceeds of the Sustainability Bond will be used to finance both social and green projects. Household, micro and SME finance are selected as eligible social project categories. During the tenor of the loan, AEB will strive to increase the allocation of the bond proceeds to the following eligible green projects: (i) energy efficient household appliances, (ii) energy efficient home improvements and (iii) solar panels. AEB will provide both use of proceeds and impact reporting per social and green category on an annual basis.”
You may read the press release on the news page of the Symbiotics internet site.