Woori Bank, a major lender in South Korea, said May 8 that it has floated $450 million worth of sustainability bonds in Taiwan.

The Formosa bonds will mature in five years and carry a floating rate of the three-month London Interbank Offered Rate, a global benchmark rate, plus a spread of 0.77 percentage point.

It marks the lowest rate on Formosa bonds issued by a Korean lender and is 0.06-0.07 percentage point lower than the interest on global bonds, Woori Bank said.

Sustainability bonds are floated to exclusively finance a combination of green and social projects. Formosa bonds refer to bonds issued in Taiwan but denominated in a currency other than the Taiwanese unit.

The lender said it has issued the bonds after receiving a certificate from Sustainalytics, which rates the sustainability of listed firms based on their environmental, social and corporate governance performance.

Woori Bank, the flagship of major bank holding firm Woori Financial Group, said the low-rate issuance will have a positive impact on future Formosa bond sales by Korean financial institutions.

By Ram Garikipati and newswires (ram@heraldcorp.com)