Ahren Lester

Articles by Ahren Lester

  • 'Big four' SPO providers becomes 'big five' in 2024

    10 February 2025

    Japan-focused Rating and Investment Information (R&I) secured more than a 10% share of the sustainable finance second-party opinion market in 2024, joining the global 'big four' US providers led by Sustainalytics and S&P Global.

  • South Korea readies sovereign green bond market return in 2026

    06 February 2025

    South Korea is planning to issue a green bond in 2026 following investor engagement, according to a senior government official - five years after the sovereign was last active in the market.

  • 'SLBs can be the right tool for impact investing' urge investors

    06 February 2025

    Sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) have the potential to be valuable impact investing tools and regulations in Europe could be building the right "home" for the performance-based instrument,...

  • KEPCO drops sustainable bond label from US dollar issuance

    05 February 2025

    South Korean utility firm Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) has launched its first US dollar-denominated bond transaction without a sustainable bond label in years,...

  • Fannie Mae joins IBRD in exclusive $200bn sustainable bond club

    05 February 2025

    US government-owned mortgage provider Fannie Mae has raised more than $200 billion from sustainable bonds, becoming only the second issuer to cross this milestone.

  • KfW green bond tap three-times oversubscribed

    04 February 2025

    German development bank KfW has raised €3 billion ($3.1 billion) from a tap of its existing green bond due March 2032, with the deal attracting an orderbook of around €8.75 billion.

  • US investors warming to OpEx in green bonds

    04 February 2025

    Operating expenses remain a divisive topic among green bond investors, but APG's Joshua Linder tells Ahren Lester that US investors are beginning to shift their stance

  • Sustainable bond diversification into adaptation and nature 'quite clear'

    03 February 2025

    The growing diversification of the sustainable bond market into areas including climate adaptation- and nature-related use of proceeds has become a clear trend, ...

  • Japan targeting more 'newcomers' for green debt market

    03 February 2025

    Japan is working on ways to encourage more companies to start using labelled green bonds and loans alongside its plans to "transition" the market from a focus on quantity to quality of deals, according to a senior government official.

  • France launches 'provisional' €11bn green bond issuance plan for 2025

    31 January 2025

    France is planning to issue up to €11 billion ($11.5 billion) of green bonds in 2025, but said this provisional figure could be "revised upwards" when the government successfully passes its delayed 2025 budget.