STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Feb. 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) saw its European Debt Market grow by 8 percent in 2020. Continued interest to list Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) programs and strong demand for ESG investment opportunities have fueled the expansion. Issuers have also tapped the debt capital markets to raise funds to support Covid-19 pandemic mitigation efforts.
The market for corporate debt grew with 18 percent in 2020. Nasdaq has also seen the number of listed Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) programs increase throughout the year, continuing a trend that started in 2019.
Total listed volumes on the Nasdaq Sustainable Debt Market increased 53 percent year over year in 2020. The global pandemic has fueled fundraising efforts among many governments, NGOs and companies, including the Nordic Investment Bank which issued bonds to support the government of Estonia. In September, Nasdaq Helsinki also saw its first ever listing of a social bond, issued by Finland's Municipality FinancePLC.
Data from the Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network shows that the issuers listing bonds at Nasdaq's Sustainable Debt Market in Europe together saved 9.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gas equivalents through the investments financed by their sustainable bonds, as reported by the issuers in their latest annual reports. The emissions saved are equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions for the population of Stockholm.
Other notable 2020 events on the Nasdaq Sustainable Debt Market include the Swedish Government's $2 billion listing of the first Nordic sovereign green bondin September and the listing of the first corporate green bond in Finland, by Tornator, in October.
"The pandemic has underscored the need for investments in projects targeting job creation and access to essential services, and also the incredible power that the financial markets have in order to help raise capital for those important efforts," said Ann-Charlotte Eliasson, Head of European Fixed Income Listings at Nasdaq. "We have also been able to continue to expand the Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network by leveraging the experience we have gained from operating the world's first market for sustainable bonds. Our deep roots in the global financial markets and our first-rate technology give us an unique opportunity to support the global community raising capital and gathering intelligence."
The Nasdaq Sustainable Bond Network, a data platform for issuers looking to showcase their sustainable bonds to investors, who in turn are able to access, compare and understand the impact of the bonds, has in the year since its launchgrown into a leading solution for increased transparency on the global sustainable bond market. In 2020, over 300 issuers, including the Nordic Investment Bank, African Development Bank, IFC - part of the World Bank, a number of major European banks as well as state and government agency issuers from Italy, Holland, Mexico, joined the platform. A partnership between Nasdaq and SGX to expand the platform into the Asian-Pacific region was also announced to launch in 2021.
Nasdaq European Debt Market is the joint brand name for all corporate bond, mortgage bond, sustainable bond and structured product markets at Nasdaq's European exchanges.
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