AIFC Green Finance Centre + SB Sberbank JSC = ESG Partnership
Aidar Kazybayev, the Chief Executive Officer of the AIFC Green Finance Centre, and Yeldar Tenizbayev, the Chairman of the Management Board of SB Sberbank JSC held a business meeting at the Sberbank office and signed a Memorandum of Understanding and Partnership on the development of green finance in Kazakhstan.
A number of issues were discussed between the parties at the meeting, in particular on sustainable development, including the issuance of debut ESG bonds in 2022.
Kazybayev informed the SB Sberbank JSC (hereinafter referred to as “Sberbank”) about the existing mechanisms for issuance of green and social bonds, which provide for disclosure of information on the profitability and transparency of transactions by issuers. A. Kazybayev also informed about the ongoing work of the Centre on assistance to financial organisations of Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Uzbekistan in implementing sustainable development projects, as well as assistance to Kazakhstan second-tier banks in implementing projects through the green lending mechanism.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Centre proposed Sberbank to create an ESG Practice School in the AIFC, within the framework of which training will be conducted on the preparation of ESG reporting and verification, training of relevant personnel, as well as the formation of a pool of ESG projects. A. Kazybayev also introduced the subsidiary of the Centre – «Green Technology Hub» to the Sberbank team and offered services for conducting a technological audit of projects for environmental, social and economic effects, including the optimal financing mechanism and cheaper projects in general, and also presented the Non-profit company of the Centre – «Eurasian Environmental Fund» with an initiative to join projects on planting trees to reduce carbon dioxide in the country, the implementation of which falls under the instruction of the President to plant over two billion trees in the next 5 years.
The parties agreed to work out issues on the issuance of ESG bonds to provide financing for the construction of schools, hospitals, city parks and etc. An agreement was also reached to work out the creation of the ESG syndicate on the AIFC site with participation of interested banks and other financial organisations to finance large-scale environmental and social projects.
Tenizbayev agreed to assist the Centre in studying the Sberbank experience in creating the ESG alliance in Russia, established on December 1, 2021.
The parties also agreed to jointly hold the GreenFest-2022 green marathon in the cities of Kazakhstan in May 2022 and study the proposals of the Centre for the preliminary assessment of the Sberbank investment projects.
In addition, the parties agreed to launch a quarterly ESG training module for financial institutions from the first quarter of 2022.
The Sberbank team will also provide assistance and support in the development and promotion of the corporate attributes of the Green Finance Centre which includes all environmental standards.
Reference:
The Astana International Financial Centre 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 Centre’s development strategy until 2025 was approved by the Management council of the AIFC during the council’s meeting on July 2, 2020.
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 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 a 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).
