Weihai Bank completed the issuance of RMB500 million in Tranche One 2026 Green Financial Bonds in China's national inter-bank bond market, in an announcement filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday.
The bonds carry a coupon rate of 1.65% and a three-year term, giving the bank a relatively low-cost source of funding earmarked specifically for environmentally focused lending.
PROCEEDS TIED TO GREEN FINANCE CATALOGUE
Proceeds from the issuance are earmarked for projects specified in the Green Finance Support Project Catalogue (2025 Edition) and must comply with the Blue Finance Standards (Trial Version), the filing said. The framework ties Weihai Bank's use of funds to nationally recognised green and blue finance classification systems, a structure increasingly used by Chinese banks to demonstrate compliance with environmental lending standards.
The filing, lodged with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under stock code 09677, provides limited additional detail on the specific projects to be financed, but confirms the bond falls within the bank's broader green bond issuance activity for 2026.
PART OF WIDER GREEN BOND ACTIVITY
Chinese banks have increasingly turned to green financial bonds as a funding tool, both to support environmentally aligned lending and to diversify their funding base within the inter-bank bond market. Weihai Bank's Tranche One issuance forms part of this broader trend among regional and mid-sized Chinese lenders seeking to expand green finance portfolios in line with national policy priorities.
The announcement did not disclose further tranches planned under the 2026 Green Financial Bonds programme, though the naming of the issuance as "Tranche One" suggests additional tranches may follow. Weihai Bank's shares are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under code 09677.
The three-year tenor and 1.65% coupon on the RMB500 million tranche are consistent with pricing levels seen elsewhere in China's inter-bank green bond market, where issuers have benefited from strong domestic demand for fixed-income instruments carrying an explicit environmental use-of-proceeds label. The relatively short maturity suggests the bank is targeting near-to-medium-term green lending rather than long-dated infrastructure projects.
By filing the announcement with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under stock code 09677, Weihai Bank ensured the issuance was disclosed to its listed-company shareholder base as well as to participants in the mainland inter-bank bond market where the bonds themselves were placed, maintaining consistency between its onshore funding activity and its offshore listing obligations.
The RMB500 million raised through this tranche adds to the funding base Weihai Bank can deploy toward projects meeting the Green Finance Support Project Catalogue and Blue Finance Standards criteria, giving the bank a dedicated pool of capital ring-fenced for environmentally aligned lending rather than general corporate purposes. The 1.65% coupon reflects favourable funding conditions in China's inter-bank bond market for well-rated green issuances at the time of pricing.
Weihai Bank's listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under code 09677 means the disclosure requirements attached to the green bond issuance extend beyond mainland regulatory filings to include Hong Kong listing rules, giving international investors visibility into the bank's onshore funding and green finance activity alongside its equity holders.
The alignment of the Tranche One issuance with both the Green Finance Support Project Catalogue (2025 Edition) and the Blue Finance Standards (Trial Version) gives Weihai Bank a dual classification basis for the bond, potentially widening the pool of projects eligible to receive proceeds compared with a bond structured under only one of the two frameworks.