LGX Corner - 2022 Year in Review

We signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bolsa de Valores de Cabo Verde in order to facilitate our cooperation in capital market activities and support them in the establishment of a sustainable financing platform dedicated to the blue economy, Blu-X. Later in the year, the LGX Academy provided a tailor-made training to locals to foster capacity building.

A month later, we signed an MoU with the Rwanda Stock Exchange aimed at building bridges between the financial services industries in Luxembourg and Rwanda and foster the development of sustainable finance.   

Building on an MoU focused on sustainable finance signed with India International Exchange (India INX) in 2020, we entered into a cooperation agreement aimed at enhancing the visibility of Indian securities towards international investors by facilitating their admission on our exchange. 

Following an agreement with the Bourse Régionale des Valeurs Mobilières (BRVM) to strengthen sustainable finance in the eight West-African countries covered by BRVM, their CEO, Dr Amenounvé, joined our COP27 side event to share his views on the importance of climate finance in Africa.

GovernArt and the Santiago Stock Exchange launched the ESG Analysis Certification initiative in Hispanic America, for which we act as the international certifying institution. The initiative aims at training market players in Hispanic America and give them the opportunity to contribute to sustainable finance.

During the visit of Prime Minister of Vietnam HE Pham Minh Chinh to Luxembourg, we  signed an MoU with Vietnam Exchange to facilitate cooperation in the field of sustainable finance between our two exchanges. 

As part of our commitment to advance gender finance and our collaboration with UN Women, we are now flagging all gender-focused bonds displayed on LGX in order to make it easier for investors to identify debt instruments that raise financing for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Our Head of Sustainable Finance Laetitia Hamon was appointed to the European Commission’s prestigious High-Level Expert Group (HLEG) on scaling up sustainable finance in low- and middle-income countries.

We acquired a stake in UK-based global sustainability data provider Util to support the company’s expansion and help bridge the sustainability data gap in the market, helping investors better evaluate the SDG contributions of the companies in which they invest.

To help you navigate the growing SLB market, our experts analysed its trends and characteristics in a study entirely based on data from the LGX DataHub.

Our latest market study focuses on the current level of EU Taxonomy-related disclosure for green, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds listed worldwide.

We won the ‘Stock Exchange of the Year’ for our pioneering work through LGX in three key areas: Expanding the scope of the sustainable investment opportunities featured on LGX, bringing structured sustainability data to the market with the LGX DataHub and fostering sustainable finance knowledge and awareness through the LGX Academy.

At the COP27, we co-organised a side event with the Global Green Growth Institute with a series of expert guests from Luxembourg and Africa who explored what can be done to scale up sustainable finance in the region.

The Brazilian stock exchange B3 (Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão) issued its inaugural USD 700 m sustainability-linked bond. The sustainable performance targets are linked to achieving a representation of  35% women in management and leadership roles and creating a gender diversity index, in line with SDG 5 'Gender Equality'.

In response to the social crisis caused by the war in Ukraine, the Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) issued a new EUR 1 bn Social Inclusion Bond (SIB) aimed at supporting member states in assisting refugees, including through social housing, education, health and social care, and jobs creation and preservation projects.

As a leading issuer of green bonds, KfW's representatives joined us in celebrating its milestone of EUR 50 billion in total green bond issuance since 2014 in a special Ring the Bell ceremony. 

Shortly after the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced its decision to issue climate awareness bonds in EARN format, it issued a EUR 4 bn climate awareness Euro-Area Reference Note (EARN).

The Republic of Uruguay's inaugural USD 1.499 bn sustainability-linked bond has a coupon that is subject to a step-down/step-up option linked to the achievement of two climate-related sustainability performance targets, aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preserving native forests.

The Impulsum Impact Series 1 mutual fund, an initiative of Bank of Luxembourg Investment (BLI), is focused on addressing social issues and achieving positive social outcomes for populations living at the bottom of the economic pyramid - more specifically, women, MSMEs and micro-financial institutions located in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Social bonds funding these projects are issued by a Special Purpose Vehicle’s compartment named “Impulsum Impact Series 1.”

With over 310 participants from various sectors with a keen interest in sustainable finance from all around the globe, our lecturers have successfully delivered several series of in-house, tailor-made or intensive courses, for a total of 171 hours of training, including with carefully chosen and trusted partners like Arendt.

In line with our mission to support emerging economies in the development of their expertise in sustainable finance, the LGX Academy has been widely active in these regions. Through tailor-made courses, aimed at helping local market players and public entities learn all about the different sustainable products and the issuance process, our lecturers contributed to building capacity in several emerging economies, such as in Cambodia, Sri Lanka or Cabo Verde. 

Since we launched the LGX DataHub in 2020, our experts have worked continuously to increase the scope of the sustainability data included in the tool. We are pleased to announce that we have now topped the 9,000 green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked (GSSS) bonds mark, which means that we cover close to the entire universe of the world’s listed sustainable debt instruments.

Thanks to the data available on the LGX DataHub, the OECD produced a report on the GSSS bond market in developing countries, analysing the state of the market and the barriers to growth. 

With a number of exciting features planned for 2023, we look forward to being able to share more details with you and continue to help inform our clients' sustainable investment decisions.

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