DP World: First in Middle East to Launch Innovative Blue Bond

Post by : Elena Malik

Photo : Dubai Government Media Office

DP World has made history by raising $100 million through the first-ever Blue Bond in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This special bond is designed to support projects that protect the environment. It focuses on areas like marine transportation, improving port infrastructure, reducing marine pollution, and taking care of nature and water resources.

By launching this bond, DP World aims to help achieve important global goals, especially United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation). This bond also meets the growing interest of investors who want to fund environmentally friendly projects.

This is not just the first Blue Bond in MENA but also the first corporate Blue Bond in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. It shows DP World’s dedication to creating a more sustainable and resilient future for the logistics and maritime industry.

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 Details About the Bond

The bond will last for five years and offers a 5.25% interest rate. It was priced at 99.6 basis points above U.S. Treasuries, making it DP World’s most cost-effective bond ever. This shows how much investors trust DP World and its vision. T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., a global investment company, was the key investor in this groundbreaking initiative.

Supporting Environmental Goals

The Blue Bond is closely connected to DP World’s new Ocean Strategy, which focuses on protecting the environment while supporting global trade. This strategy has four main goals, including improving the health of oceans and fighting climate change. It also supports international agreements like the Paris Climate Agreement and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, explained the company’s mission:

“As leaders in global trade, we have a responsibility to protect our oceans for future generations. We want to lead the way toward a sustainable blue economy and work with our partners to solve climate and ocean challenges. This Blue Bond is a key step toward that goal.”

Tackling Global Problems

Through this bond, DP World aims to address critical problems such as ocean pollution, the loss of marine biodiversity, and the lack of clean water. These problems harm nature and create challenges for people. This Blue Bond is DP World’s second step into sustainable financing, highlighting its commitment to environmentally friendly business practices.

Global Support for the Initiative

Rob Sharps, Chairman, CEO, and President of T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., praised the effort, saying:

“We are proud to work with DP World on the Middle East’s first corporate Blue Bond. This bond will fund projects that protect life below water (UN SDG 14) while offering good returns for investors. Since SDG 14 is one of the least funded global goals, we hope this inspires others to support the blue economy.”

Philip Brown, Managing Director at Citigroup, which helped with the bond, added:

“Citi is proud to help DP World issue its first Blue Bond. This is an important step in sustainable financing.”

Projects Funded by the Blue Bond

The money raised will be used for several environmental projects, such as:

• Sustainable Marine Transportation: Developing cleaner fuels and technologies to reduce pollution from ships.
• Sustainable Port Development: Improving ports to reduce environmental harm, noise, and air pollution.
• Marine Ecosystem Conservation: Protecting and restoring marine ecosystems to improve biodiversity.
• Reducing Marine Pollution: Tackling waste and pollution in oceans, improving water quality, and ensuring fair access to water.

A Big Step for Sustainability

This bond is part of DP World’s updated Sustainable Finance Framework, which follows international standards for green and blue financing. Earlier this year, DP World released its first report on Green Sukuk, showing that $1.17 billion of the $1.5 billion raised was used for green projects. These projects have reduced over 177 million kilograms of CO2 emissions and produced nearly 867,000 kWh of renewable energy.

With this new Blue Bond, DP World continues to lead the way in making global trade more sustainable and environmentally friendly. This effort sets an example for other companies to follow in protecting the planet and supporting a sustainable blue economy.

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