As part of an official visit by a high-level delegation from the Chinese province of Henan and its aviation industry to Luxembourg this week, the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) and Henan Civil Aviation Development & Investment Co. Ltd (HNCA) took part in a special Ring the Bell ceremony to mark HNCA’s debut in international capital markets with a RMB 200 million green bond aimed at transitioning towards a more sustainable aviation industry.

“The aviation industry can and must play an important role in creating a more low-carbon future. As a leader in the field of sustainable finance, we are delighted to welcome HNCA to the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and Luxembourg Green Exchange with this important green bond. This issuance underpins HNCA’s commitment to creating a more sustainable aviation industry, and we look forward to supporting its efforts in the future as we continue to help finance the decarbonisation of the transportation industry,” said Julie Becker, CEO of LuxSE.  

Leading the way in sustainable aviation

HNCA’s inaugural green bond also marks its debut in international capital markets, making it the first Chinese entity to issue a green bond focusing on sustainable aviation fuel among other key sustainable projects.

Projects to be financing through this RMB 200 million bond include the research, production and manufacturing of sustainable aviation fuel, Cargolux’s Sustainable 

Aviation Fuel Programme, and the construction of a green building project that will become the Group’s Aviation Training Centre.

 “This bond issuance marks an important moment in HNCA’s continuous efforts to strengthen its cooperation with the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and the Grand-Duchy as a whole. We look forward to further collaborating to mobilise international capital to support the development of a more sustainable aviation industry and the development of the Henan Province,” said Zhang Mingchao, Party Secretary and Chairman of HNCA.

Building on Luxembourg-China cooperation

In 2014, HNCA completed the purchase of a 35% stake in Luxembourg’s flag carrier cargo airline, Cargolux. Since then, HNCA has continued to work closely with key actors in Luxembourg to further connect the Grand-Duchy with mainland China - a move that today has expanded into sustainable finance for the aviation sector through the listing of its inaugural green bond at LuxSE.

The Ring the Bell ceremony was organised in the context of an official visit by a high-level delegation from the Henan Province to Luxembourg, which included the Second Zhengzhou-Luxembourg Air Silk Road International Cooperation Forum at LuxExpo on 20 June, in which Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China Ding Xuexiang, Deputy Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel and LuxSE’s CEO Julie Becker were in attendance.

For more information about HNCA’s bond, visit the security card here.