Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, South Korea’s state-run energy provider, announced Wednesday that it has issued Asia’s first corporate green bond dedicated to nuclear power generation.
The bond, with a total value of 1.2 billion Hong Kong dollars ($154 million) and a three-year term, will be exclusively used to improve nuclear power plant safety, and fund research and development of next-generation nuclear power technologies.
Recognized for KHNP’s expertise in managing green bonds, the bond's framework received the highest SQS1 Sustainability Quality Score from global credit rating agency Moody’s last year — the first-ever top rating granted to a green bond dedicated to nuclear energy.
KHNP said major institutional investors from Hong Kong and Singapore participated in the offering, enabling it to secure funding at lower interest rates than conventional bonds.
“The successful issuance of the nuclear green bond marks a global acknowledgment of nuclear power as an eco-friendly energy source. It also reaffirms KHNP’s leadership in the financial sector in addition to nuclear plant construction and operation,” KHNP CEO Whang Joo-ho said.
“We will continue strengthening nuclear plant safety and investing in next-generation technologies such as small modular reactors, contributing to the global transition to carbon neutrality.”
forestjs@heraldcorp.com
