Furthering National Development Bank PLC’s (NDB) commitment towards a greener planet and a sustainable business model, the bank entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) recently, at the boardroom of NDB Bank, Nawam Mawatha, Colombo 2. 

GGGI Director General Dr. Frank Rijsberman signed on behalf of the GGGI while NDB Bank Director/CEO Dimantha Seneviratne and NDB Bank Vice President Project Finance and Corporate Credit Control Ishani Palliyaguru signed on behalf of NDB Bank. 

Through this partnership, NDB is poised to initiate preparatory measures for the future issuance of sustainability bonds. The GGGI will lend its technical expertise to support NDB in designing a robust sustainability bond framework. Through a sustainability bond issuance, NDB plans to finance a diverse array of green and social projects, spanning from renewable energy and sustainable transportation to green infrastructure, nature-based solutions, climate-smart agriculture and other nascent green industries.

The groundwork for this partnership was laid by a high-level event on Strategies and Actions to Accelerate Sri Lanka’s Transition to a Green Development Pathway, convened on February 6, 2023, by the Environment Ministry and GGGI. 

The event brought together important stakeholders from the government, private sector, development partners, academia and civil society, under the patronage of President Ranil Wickramasinghe and Assembly President, Council of the Global Green Growth Institute Chair and United Nations Eighth Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. 

The high-level event included a panel discussion on strategies to enhance Sri Lanka’s transition to a green economy, which was chaired by GGGI Asia Regional Director and Head of Programmes Dr. Achala Abeysinghe. At the panel discussion, Environment Ministry Climate Change Director Kumudini Vidyalankara underscored the need for creating enabling environments in Sri Lanka to mobilise sustainable financing. 

As a panellist, Seneviratne further highlighted the urgent need for a green growth model, emphasising the crucial role of the private sector in fostering sustainable financial products. Such collaboration could greatly bolster government-led development efforts. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka’s launch of the Green Finance Taxonomy has further strengthened the framework for eco-conscious financing in the country.

NDB has been at the forefront of gaining access to sizeable financial sources and has led the banking sector to finance green investments domestically and abroad while also partaking in building the necessary institutional capacity to play this role. With this extensive history of financing green projects for development, NDB is well-positioned to serve as a financial catalyst for Sri Lanka’s transformation to a green economy.