CITIC Securities
Among Chinese brokerage houses, CITIC Securities is not only the largest in the field, but also stands out as the leader of the green finance pack. The brokerage firm has a commanding share of the green bond market among brokers and has underwritten a large number of green finance projects that are directly issued by companies themselves.
From April 2017 to March 2018, CITIC Securities, led by Choanan Wang, underwrote Rmb56 billion ($8.7 billion)-worth of green financial instruments, accounting for 27% of the total market value. CITIC counts among its clients the leading hydropower company China Three Gorges, and last year helped the company to issue Rmb7.5 billion-worth of bonds to fund three hydropower plants.
Unlike banks, which issue bonds through the interbank market and then lend the proceeds to enterprises, Citic helps corporate clients to directly issue their own green bonds.
Though more complex to issue, Chinese regulators are making it more worthwhile for companies to issue green bonds, notes Nie Lei, an executive director in charge of green finance at CITIC Securities. He adds that chief among the new regulatory reforms is allowing investors to use their green bond assets as collateral for financing.
“ The new reforms make green bonds more attractive as investments,” he says.
CITIC is participating in several highly innovative green financial initiatives. So far, it is the only securities company to participate in the study of non-fixed-term capital supplementary bonds.