HSBC Asset Management has partnered with the International Finance Corp (IFC) to form a fund that intends to support corporate bond issuers from emerging markets.
The fund is meant to attract institutional investors and thereby increase the amount of capital available to emerging market companies that are engaging in sustainable objectives, according to a statement published on Wednesday by HSBC and IFC, a member of World Bank Group.
The fund will be classified as Article 9, the European Union’s toughest sustainability category.
The decision to register the fund as an Article 9 product “places a strong emphasis on issuer-level sustainability and transparency beyond just an issuance’s use-of-proceeds”, Mohamed Gouled, the vice president of industries at IFC, said in a statement.
The fund will invest in publicly listed bonds issued by corporate and financial institutions in emerging markets, with a view to financing areas such as sustainable technologies and social impact.
Nicolas Moreau, the chief executive of HSBC Asset Management, commented: “We hope this collaboration demonstrates the financial market opportunity in funding sustainability to help bridge the financing gap for emerging-market corporate issuers whose activities are aligned with and positively contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.”
