46019 - DCM TTB GreenBlue 2021

Who We Are
Who We Are

IFC is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries. By encouraging growth, IFC advances economic development, creates jobs and improves the lives of people.
More About Us
About IFC

Our Leadership

Development Partners
Accountability

Learn more about accountability
Annual Report

Download the Report
What We Do
What We Do

IFC advances economic development and improves the lives of people by encouraging the growth of the private sector in developing countries. We achieve this by investing in impactful projects, mobilizing other investors, and sharing expertise.
What We Do Overview
SOLUTIONS

Our products and services
OUR PRIORITIES

Climate Business

Fragile & Conflict Afflicted Situations

Gender

Mobilizing Private Capital

Sustainability
SECTORS & EXPERTISE

Agribusiness & Forestry

Creative Industries

Education

Financial Institutions

Funds

Health

Infrastructure

Manufacturing

Public-Private Partnerships

Tourism, Retail & Property

Trade & Supply Chain Finance

Venture Capital

Working Upstream
Where We Work
Where We Work

As the largest global development institution focused on the private sector, IFC operates in more than 100 countries around the globe. We apply lessons learned in one region to solve problems in another.
Overview
By Region

Africa

East Asia and Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

Middle East and Central Asia

South Asia
Our Impact
Our Impact

Our impact improves lives. IFC brings a clear set of advantages to the world’s most challenging markets. Including a history of innovation, a global mandate, and a determination to achieve measurable development impact.
Our Impact Overview
PRINCIPLES & MEASUREMENT

Impact Investing at IFC

Measuring and Monitoring (AIMM)

Evaluation

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Owned by 186 member countries and consistently rated AAA/Aaa. IFC aims to achieve our mission of promoting development by providing debt and equity to the private sector, through a range of benchmark and bespoke products.

For Partners

For Investors

Get in Touch

Summary of Investment Information

Project Number

46019

Company Name

TMB THANACHART BANK PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED

Date SPI Disclosed

Aug 8, 2022

Country

Thailand

Region

East Asia and the Pacific

Projected Board Date

Feb 23, 2022

Environmental Category

FI-2 - Limited

Status

Completed

Last Updated Date

Oct 31, 2025

Department

Regional Industry - FIG Asia & Pac

Industry

Financial Markets

Previous Events

Approved : Feb 23, 2022
Signed : Mar 21, 2022
Invested : Aug 5, 2022

Sector

Commercial Banking - General

Project Description

The proposed Project entails IFC’s subscription of up to US$150 million in a USD-denominated bond to be privately issued by TMBThanachart Bank Public Company Limited (“TTB” or the “Bank”) to support TTB to grow green financing for electric vehicles (EVs) and to develop its blue financing business (the “Project”). TTB plans to issue a green bond of up to US$100 million and a blue bond of up to US$50 million via private placement to IFC.

TTB, originally established as Thai Military Bank (TMB) in 1957, was renamed following its merger in December 2019 with Thanachart Bank Public Company Limited. TTB is the sixth largest bank in Thailand in terms of total assets and offers full-fledged commercial banking services in retail banking, corporate, SME banking, life and non-life insurance, investment banking and asset management.

Associated Advisory Engagement

N/A

Sponsor / Cost / Location

Product Line	IFC Investment (million USD)
Risk Management
Guarantee
Loan	150.0
Equity

IFC's loan to the financial institution described in this SII is targeted for on-lending to the following sector(s):

Product Type	Use of Proceeds
Straight Senior Loan	Labeled: Green;Blue;Social-Loans/Bonds

IFC's Definitions of Targeted Sectors can be found here.

Development Impact

Increased Access to Climate Finance: IFC’s proposed investment will support TTB to grow the financing of EVs, and, as a financial intermediary, to catalyze the private sector in Thailand to adopt environmental and social sustainable principles, thereby reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. Increased Access to Finance for Blue Projects: IFC’s proposed investment will assist TTB to provide more financing to critical areas such as marine plastic recycling, water conservation and wastewater treatment projects. Market Creation: The first blue bond to be issued by a Thai financial institution would create market for the new instrument, catalyze the role played by financial intermediary in promoting sustainable development of ocean economy, and set standard for other local financial institutions to replicate. Currently there is no established practice for private sector financial institutions to issue blue bonds, which should include a set of common principles on use of proceeds, measurement, and reporting. Over the course of the investment horizon IFC will apply a systematic approach to developing the blue bond market in Thailand and globally, through a combination of investment, upstream and advisory engagements.

Innovative financing instruments: IFC will invest in the innovative green and blue labelled bonds to be issued by TTB, the first commercial bank to issue a blue bond in Thailand. The bonds are expected to introduce certain criteria, following the Green Bond Principles, specifying activities for the financing of EVs, and IFC Blue Finance Guidance, on eligible blue projects that help address depletion of the blue economy and scarcity of clean water resources, including activities aimed at combatting marine plastics and improving ocean protection and sustainable water management. IFC’s investment and knowledge sharing on the development of a Blue Bond Framework would support TTB to deploy the bond proceeds to the blue finance sector. Knowledge, innovation, and capacity building: IFC will support the Bank to scale its green finance portfolio on EVs and establish its blue financing business by building internal capacities and formulating a solid pipeline of blue eligible projects. The activities include: (i) portfolio review and assessment, (ii) capacity building and training, and (iii) environmental and social risk management pertaining to EVs and blue assets. IFC has built a successful track record in the green bond market and is leading the groundwork for launching and scaling blue bonds. Furthermore, the collaboration with IFC will help TTB to follow IFC’s Blue Finance Guidance and build capacity in identifying eligible blue assets. Standard setting: IFC expects to further assist Thailand to develop and grow its sustainable finance markets to attract private capital for EV industry as a still relatively new asset class and a critical development need of the country. Furthermore, developing a blue bond instrument to finance economy-wide initiatives such as improved clean water resources, including water conservation and wastewater treatment projects, requires an integrated top-down policy dialogue and collaborative implementation. As a pilot blue bond issuance by financial institutions in Thailand, this Project will bring resources from IFC, the World Bank and other global stakeholders to inform the policy and regulatory considerations surrounding the development of this new instrument.

E&S Category Rationale / Risks and Mitigation

IFC is subscribing to a green and blue bond to be issued by TTB in two tranches, with the green tranche to finance purchase of EVs by individual customers and the blue tranche to finance eligible blue activities, in line with the Green Bond Principles (ICMA) and IFC’s Blue Finance Guidance Document. The blue bond proceeds will be used to finance new or existing operational blue assets or subprojects that meet IFC eligibility criteria. For avoidance of doubt, any coal related subproject and any subproject involving higher risk activities that may include a) involuntary resettlement, b) risk of adverse impacts on Indigenous Peoples, c) significant risks to or impacts on the environment, community health and safety, biodiversity, cultural heritage, or d) significant occupational health and safety risks, will not be eligible for financing from the bond proceeds. The proposed investment is therefore expected to be of medium E&S risk and categorized as an FI-2 project according to IFC Sustainability Policy. The Applicable E&S Performance Requirements for the project include IFC Exclusion List, applicable national E&S laws, and screening out subprojects of potential higher E&S risk of the type contemplated by the IFC Performance Standards.

The key potential E&S risks and impacts of the proposed investment arise from the construction and operation phases of the subprojects to be supported by the blue bond proceeds. They may include risks and impacts related to occupational health & safety, labor and working conditions, environmental pollution, impacts on community, etc. TTB has developed an environmental and social management system (ESMS) which includes E&S policy, E&S review and monitoring procedures, role and responsibilities, screening questionnaire, as well as guidance on lending to specific sectors such as natural resources, energy and chemicals. TTB will be required to upgrade the ESMS including development of a mechanism to screen out higher risk subprojects and to implement the ESMS to assess and manage E&S risks of subprojects to be supported by the bond proceeds. TTB will also be required to appoint an ESMS officer and maintain proper capacity to implement the ESMS, including training relevant staff and retaining external consultant where needed to support the ESMS implementation. TTB’s human resource policies and practices are generally in line with the requirements of the Performance 2 on Labor and Working Conditions. IFC will monitor the investment’s E&S performance on a regular basis.

Contacts

For Inquiries About the Project, Contact

TMBThanachart Bank Public Company Limited
Mr. Chalermchai Paisithmongkol
Head of Central Treasury
+662-299-1195
chalermchai.pai@ttbbank.com
3000 Phahonyothin Rd. Khwang Chomphon, Khet Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900
https://www.ttbbank.com/en

For Inquiries and Comments About IFC, Contact

General IFC Inquiries
IFC Communications
2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20433
Telephone: 202-473-3800
Fax: 202-974-4384

IFC supports its clients in addressing environmental and social issues arising from their business activities by requiring its real sector clients to set up and administer appropriate grievance mechanisms and/or procedures to address complaints from Affected Communities in relation to environmental and social issues arising from IFC's clients' business activities. Since 2012, IFC's Financial Intermediary clients applying the Performance Standards are required to develop External Communications Mechanisms to receive and review inquiries or complaints from any interested party regarding the E&S risks and impacts of their operations.

For IFC projects that are active or under consideration, individual(s), or their authorized representative(s), who allege they have been or will be adversely affected by E&S risks or impacts arising from IFC's clients' business activities, may submit a complaint to IFC directly for consideration. When receiving an E&S complaint, IFC engages with complainants and works with its clients to find solutions to E&S concerns as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Complaints can be submitted to IFC online at www.ifc.org/escomplaints or by email to EScomplaints@ifc.org.

IFC complaint response is separate from and complementary to IFC’s clients’ project level grievance mechanisms and IFC’s Independent Accountability Mechanism (CAO). Lodging a complaint directly with IFC does not, at any time, restrict access to CAO.

Affected communities have unrestricted access to the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO), the independent accountability mechanism for IFC and MIGA. CAO facilitates the resolution of complaints related to IFC and MIGA projects and sub-projects, undertakes reviews of IFC’s and MIGA’s environmental and social compliance, fosters public accountability for their commitments, and enhances the environmental and social performance of IFC and MIGA.

Independent of IFC and MIGA management and reporting directly to the IFC and MIGA Boards of Executive Directors, CAO helps resolve issues raised about the environmental and social impacts of projects through a neutral, collaborative, problem-solving approach via its Dispute Resolution function. It also reviews IFC’s and MIGA’s compliance with environmental and social policies, assesses related harm, and recommends remedial actions through its Compliance function. Additionally, CAO provides advice to IFC, MIGA, and their Boards to enhance environmental and social sustainability performance and minimize the risk of harm.

Complaints may relate to environmental and social harm regarding any aspect of the planning, implementation, or impact of a project or sub-project, and can be made by any individual, group, community, entity, or other party affected or likely to be affected by the environmental or social impacts of an IFC- or MIGA-financed business activity.

Complaints can be submitted by any of the following methods:

Online form: available at https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/
Mail/Hand Delivery to: 2121 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA
Voice mail: +1 202 458 1973
Email: cao@worldbankgroup.org
SMS, WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal: +1 202 650 2627

CAO receives and addresses complaints in accordance with the CAO Policy, which can be accessed at: https://www.cao-ombudsman.org/policies-guidelines.

This Summary of Investment Information (SII) is prepared by IFC to disclose a factual summary of the main elements of the potential investment. It also includes findings and recommendations related to environmental and social considerations regarding this potential investment. The purpose of the SII is to enhance the transparency of IFC’s activities. For any project documentation or data included or attached herein, whether prepared by the project sponsor or otherwise, authorization has been given for public release by the project sponsor. IFC considers that this SII is of adequate quality for release to the public, but has not necessarily independently verified all of the project information therein. It is distributed in advance of IFC Board of Directors’ consideration and may be periodically updated thereafter. Board dates are estimates only and this document should not be construed as presuming the outcome of the Board Directors’ decision. The following SII is disclosed in accordance with IFC's Access to Information Policy (AIP) that went into effect on January 1, 2012.

The map is for illustrative purposes and does not imply the expression of any opinion on the part of the World Bank, concerning the legal status of any country or territory or concerning the delimitation of frontiers or boundaries. Country borders or names do not necessarily reflect the World Bank Group's official position. In some cases, available project location information is limited to the country of the project's activities. Locations are approximate.

Task Title & Description	Anticipated Completion Date
Nominate officers	09/30/2022
Staff Training	09/30/2022
Upgrade ESMS	09/30/2022
Retain E&S consultant	09/30/2022

Projects

Summary of Investment Information

Project Description

Associated Advisory Engagement

Sponsor / Cost / Location

Project Sponsor and Major Shareholders of Project Company

Total Project Cost and Amount and Nature of IFC's Investment

IFC's Investment as Approved by the Board

FIG Use of Proceeds/Beneficiaries

Location of Project and Description of Site

Development Impact

Anticipated Impact Measurement & Monitoring (AIMM) Assessment

Governance Risk Assessment

IFC's Role and Additionality

E&S Category Rationale / Risks and Mitigation

Environmental & Social Categorization Rationale / Key Risks & Potential Impacts

Environmental & Social Management System (ESMS)

Mitigation Measures / Environmental & Social Action Plan (ESAP)

Press-Release

Related Environmental Document

Similar Projects

Contacts

Information on E&S Complaints and Grievance Mechanisms

Disclaimer