GREEN BOND PREMIUMS IN THE CHINESE SECONDARY MARKET

GREEN BOND PREMIUMS IN THE CHINESE SECONDARY MARKET

Author: prof. Ing. Karel Janda M.A., Dr., Ph.D.,
MSc. Binyi Zhang
Anna Kortusova
Type: IES Working Papers
Year: 2022
Number: 20
ISSN / ISBN:  
Published in: IES Working Papers 20/2022
Publishing place: Prague
Keywords: Green Finance; Green bonds; ESG; China
JEL codes: G12, Q56
Suggested Citation: Janda K, Kortusova A, Zhang B (2022): "Green Bond Premiums in the Chinese Secondary Market" IES Working Papers 20/2022. IES FSV. Charles University.
Abstract: Green bonds have gained prominence in China’s capital market as tools that help to fuel the transition to a climate-resilient economy. Although the issuance volume in the Chinese green bond market has been growing rapidly in recent years, the impact of the green label on bond pricing has not been adequately studied. Therefore, this paper investigates whether this newly developed financial instrument offers investors in China an attractive yield compared to other equivalent conventional bonds. By matching green bonds with their conventional counterparts and subsequently applying a fixed-effects estimation, our empirical results reveal a significant green bond yield premium of 1.8 basis points (bps) on average in the Chinese secondary market. In addition to that, we find that CBI certified green bond generate higher yields than self-labelled green bond in the Chinese market. Investors are found to be willing pay a higher price for green bonds issued by environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance-rated issuers. Our results point to some practical implications for investors and policymakers.
Downloadable: wp_2022_20_janda, kortusova, zhang.pdf