BTS Group won “Transport Deal of the Year (Thailand)” at The Asset Triple A Infrastructure Awards 2021
BTS Group Holdings Public Company Limited or BTS Group has implemented sustainable business practices and committed to environmental stewardship, and therefore initiated the issuance of BTS Group Green Bond as a financial tool to help mitigate global warming.
In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published a report on the impact of human activities as a major contributor to global warming. This caused Swedish Pension Funds began to consider investments that aid in solving the problem. Consequently, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB (SEB), together with the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO) and the World Bank collaborated to explore ways to obtain funding that mitigate the risks for investors and create a positive impact on the environment.
In 2008, the first-ever Green Bond was issued by the World Bank, raising funds for environmental projects in various countries. Considered one of the history-making events, the Green Bond fundamentally changed the way investors, scientists, development experts, and policymakers work together. It was hence the beginning of International Capital Markets Associations (ICMA)’s Green Bond Principles. Since then, the Green Bond market has expanded in many countries, reflecting the investors’ awareness of the climate change impact and their intention to support environmentally sustainable activities.
In November 2020, BTS Group has issued the 2nd Green Bond amounting to THB 8,600 million with tenor 2 to 10 years to refinance outstanding debts and invest more in the Pink Line and the Yellow Line Monorail Projects. Moreover, BTS Group has once again received “Transport Deal of the Year (Thailand)” award from The Asset Triple A Infrastructure Awards 2021, organised by The Asset, the leading financial magazine in Asia. Both projects will elevate Bangkok’s electric mass transit network which will lessen the use of fossil-fueled vehicles resulting in the reduction of carbon emission, and fine dust particles (PM2.5) in Bangkok. This award is based on outstanding public transport debt securities with emphasis on sustainability infrastructure.
Mr. Surayut Thavikulwat, Chief Financial Officer of BTS Group, said that “Green Bond has received a lot of attention from investors in Thailand. Consequently, BTS Group issued another debenture to meet the needs of investors. The two awards that BTS Group received reflect its commitment to maintain balance between the preservation of economic benefits along with having awareness of the environment according to good governance by passing the policy from the organisation level to the employees for learning and implementing best practices.”
In addition, BTS Group’s sustainable commitment has been acknowledged through awards and recognitions received at both national and international level such as being included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI) for the 3 consecutive years (2018-2020) and ranked first globally in the DJSI Transportation and Transportation Infrastructure Sector. Recently, BTS Group was honored to be the first and only rail carbon neutral transportation company certified by the Thai Government’s Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organisation.
