Asia Pacific (APAC) green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked (GSSS) bond issuers are increasingly launching social, sustainability and sustainability–linked bonds (SLBs), according to a report by ratings firm Moody’s ESG Solutions. Green bonds are still the most common type of bond in the APAC region; however, while they made up 88% of the APAC bond market in 2018, this fell to 53% in 2021. In comparison, social bonds now make up 26% of the market – up from 4.6% in 2018 – followed by sustainability bonds (16%), SLBs (3%) and transition bonds (1%). The total cumulative issuance of GSSS bonds in the APAC region has grown significantly, reaching US$700 billion by the end of June, accounting for approximately a quarter of the total global sustainability bond volume, which reached US$86 billion in H1 2022. However, social and sustainability bonds saw a respective 72% and 70% decline in issuance during Q2 of this year compared to Q2 2021.
