What’s new: International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, said it will provide a $150 million blue syndicated loan to Bank of Qingdao Co. Ltd., to support the Chinese lender funding ocean-friendly projects.
The loan includes $40 million contributed by IFC and $110 million from the Asian Development Bank, DEG - Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH and Proparco, a French development financial institution, according to a statement released by Proparco on Friday.
A blue loan is an innovative financing instrument that earmarks funds for ocean-friendly projects such as marine plastic pollution treatment and marine ecological restoration.
“IFC’s investment and advisory service will enable us to focus on critical areas such as sustainable fishery, waste and water treatment and plastic management projects, accelerating economic recovery amid the ongoing pandemic,” said Wang Lin, president of Bank of Qingdao, according to the statement.
The background: The loan is IFC’s first blue finance investment in China, the statement said, with more than 50% of the country’s coastal wetlands lost to the country’s rapid economic development.
Bank of Qingdao is headquartered in the eastern Chinese coastal city of the same name, where the marine industry contributed to 30% of its GDP, the statement said.
Related: In Depth: Everything You Need to Know About China’s Decarbonization Drive
Contact reporter Tang Ziyi (ziyitang@caixin.com)
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