Qatar Ready to Sell First Green Bond ‘Very Soon’

(Bloomberg) -- Qatar is ready to sell its first green bond — and first external deal of any kind in four years — soon, according to the Gulf state’s finance minister.

“We’re ready to do it very soon,” Ali Al-Kuwari told Bloomberg Television at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “We are not hungry for money but it will be mainly to send a strong statement” about the need to counter climate change.

The country recently finalized a green-finance framework to ensure it meets the requirements for issuing green bonds, which typically fund projects meant to reduce carbon and other planet-warming emissions.

Qatar, one of the world’s biggest producers of liquefied natural gas, hasn’t issued Eurobonds since early 2020. Back then, it sold $10 billion of five-, 10- and 30-year debt.

The government is rated AA by S&P Global Ratings, just two steps below the highest-possible level. It’s dollar bonds yield 4.92% on average, according to Bloomberg indexes, one of the lowest levels in emerging markets.

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