AIFC Green Finance Centre

02 July 2021 14:12:41

Within the framework of the Green Growth Forum, on July 2, the second Green Finance Awards, initiated by the AIFC with the aim of popularizing the idea of transition to a green economy in the region of Central Asia, the Caucasus, Eastern Europe and Mongolia, were presented in a virtual format in Nur-Sultan.

The final list of winners was determined by the independent Awards Nominating Committee, which includes Magzum Mirzagaliyev, Minister of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Sergey Glazyev, Member of the Board (Minister) for Integration and Macroeconomics of the Eurasian Economic Commission, Kairat Aitekenov, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the AIFC Green Finance Centre, First Deputy Chairman of the AIFC Administration, Ma Jun, Chairman of the China Green Finance Committee, Director of the Beijing Institute for Finance and Sustainability, Co-Chairman of the G20 Green Finance Research Group, James Zhang, Chairman of the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchange Initiative, Stephen Nolan, Managing Director of FC4S and Sean Kidney, Co-Founder and CEO of the Climate Bonds Initiative.

During the Green Finance Awards 2021 ceremony, awards were presented to the following winners in five categories:

• The Best Green Bank is JSCB "Uzpromstroybank", Uzbekistan. The Bank actively supports the strategy of the green economy of Uzbekistan. JSCB "Uzpromstroybank" is actively engaged in lending to green projects and has a green loan portfolio of 682 billion soums in equivalent, with 620 green loans issued.
• The award for First Green Bond in emerging markets goes to Georgia Global Utilities, Georgia. The company successfully conducted the first placement of green bonds in the amount of US $ 250 million on July 23, 2020. The funds from the bond issue will be used to refinance existing loan agreements and finance capital expenditures in the field of water supply and sewerage.
• The Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, Kazakhstan receives an award as Best Exchange Platform for Green Finance Instruments. In 2020, the Asian Development Bank placed two-year green bonds worth 14 billion tenge on KASE. KASE is a member of the UN Initiative on Sustainable Stock Exchanges and plans to make the disclosure of ESG information mandatory in the near future.
• Outstanding Contribution to the Development of Green Finance – UNDP in Kazakhstan. UNDP in Kazakhstan, together with the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan and JSC EDF "Damu", is conducting a program of preferential lending to small and medium-sized businesses implementing green technologies. As part of the initiative, 100 projects worth more than 11 billion tenge have been supported to date, 36 of them worth 2.1 billion tenge have already been implemented. Also, UNDP in Kazakhstan supported the first issue of green bonds in Kazakhstan in August 2020, providing subsidies for the coupon rate.
• The Best Green Finance Consultancy award goes to Green Investment Group LLP, Kazakhstan. A Kazakhstani company specializing in green investments and providing consulting services in this area. The company's portfolio includes the development of External Reviews, strategies for the development of energy complexes, development programs for various companies, including ESG policies.

During the award ceremony, Zafar Azimov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of JSCB "Uzpromstroybank" noted: «One of the priority areas in the process of transformation of our bank is Green Banking. The bank has created a special department responsible for increasing the share of the green loan portfolio and establishing an environmental and social risk management system. For our part, we will make even more efforts to more widely implement the principles of green financing in the credit practice of our bank».

Yakup Berish, Head of UNDP in Kazakhstan thanked the AIFC for its cooperation, which led to a number of important initiatives, including the issuance of green bonds in Central Asia. "Let me also confirm that the UNDP is ready to support Kazakhstan in attracting new investments for Kazakhstan's transition to low-carbon growth and fulfilling its international obligations in accordance with the Paris Agreement," he said.

Zhanna Tuyenbayeva, Director of Green Investment Group LLP, said: «We are pleased to join the circle of active participants who promote green financing in Kazakhstan and around the world. I want to assure you that our team will continue to make every effort to work effectively for the benefit of society». 

The AIFC Green Finance Centre will continue to track outstanding achievements in the field of green finance in the region. It is expected that the winners ' indicators will serve as an indicator of compliance with high international standards in the field of sustainable development and green financing.

Reference:

The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) was created by the initiative of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Leader of the Nation, Nur-Sultan Nazarbayev as part of the “100 steps to implement five institutional reforms” national program. The Management council of the AIFC during the council’s meeting on July 2, 2020, approved the Centre’s development strategy until 2025. In accordance with the strategy, the vision of AIFC is in becoming the leading financial centre in the region that includes Central Asia, the Caucasus, EAEU countries, western China, Mongolia, and Eastern Europe.

The mission of the AIFC is in assisting the sustainable and long-term development of the region. As the head of state Tokayev noted, “AIFC, with its unique opportunities, can act as a universal platform that connects the countries in the region.” The strategic directions for the sustainable development of the AIFC include the development of a circular economy, financial technologies, and “digital financial centre.” 

For more information about the AIFC, follow the link www.aifc.kz

The AIFC Green Finance Centre is an AIFC Organisation created to enable the development of green finance in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. The main goal is to bring investments to sustainable economy through trending financial instruments, such as green and social bonds. In addition to that, the AIFC Green Finance Centre, being a regional think-tank, provides strategic and business consulting in green finance and sustainable development to Governments, quasi-state organisations and entrepreneurs. The Centre provides initial assistance to potential issuers, investors and market players on preparations for the issuance of green bonds on the AIFC Exchange (Astana International Exchange).