Chinese resources to flood the Hungarian green energy market

The Hungarian state has already issued two green panda bonds. The reason was to attract finance from China for various climate-friendly investments. Hungary’s climate ambitions have been boosted by the European energy crisis. Now, they need capital to finance these expenditures.

Green panda bonds

“Projects to help Hungary’s transition into a low-carbon and environmentally sustainable economy are about to get a big push. Hundreds of millions of dollars will pour into the country’s budget thanks to the cooperation between China and Hungary,” Chinese state news channel CGTN starts its article on Hungarian green panda bonds. “Harvesting the sun’s energy, turning wind power into electricity, and reducing dependence on fossil fuels requires ingenuity and financial commitments,” the article continues.

• Read also: Fuel prices significantly decreased today in Hungary

Cooperation

“Green investment is crucial for our global efforts against climate change and to achieve sustainable development,” CGTN quotes Zhao Lei, Assistant CEO of the Bank of China, as saying. Zhao Lei went on to say that the bank had worked with the Hungarian government to help the transition to clean energy. They did it by allowing them to access the Chinese green bond market, the world’s largest green financing framework, napi.hu reports.

Goals for 2030

“We have financed many local enterprises and overseas Chinese enterprises for their green projects, such as providing a Hungarian forint-denominated loan to the largest solar power plant in Hungary,” added Zhao. Hungary’s climate ambitions have been boosted by the European energy crisis. The country aims to generate 90 percent of its electricity from low-carbon sources by 2030. This means mainly solar power, because wind turbines are still banned.

• Read also: Hungary has not received Russian oil deliveries for 3 days!

Chinese funds

Hungary most recently secured the funds by issuing a EUR 282 million (HUF 111.26 billion) green panda bond, a renminbi (Chinese currency)-denominated government bond. This is the second time that the Bank of China has assisted the Hungarian government in issuing green panda bonds. Hungary issued the first such series last December for USD 157 million. Both bonds are exclusively dedicated to sustainable energy and green projects.

Read alsoNew Hungarian nuclear power plant could be built on fault line?

Source: napi.hu, CGTN