Asian Sustainable Bond Report 2025
The International Capital Markets Association (ICMA) releases 2025 Asian sustainable bond report, which aims to summarize the development of the Asian sustainable bond market.
The total issuance scale of sustainable bonds in Asia by 2025 is 94 billion US dollars, accounting for 20% of the issuance volume in the Asian bond market.
Related Post: ICMA Releases 2024 Asian International Sustainable Bond Market Report
Overview of Asian Sustainable Bond Market
The scale of sustainable bond issuance in Asia in 2024 is $101 billion, a decrease of $7 billion to $94 billion in 2025. However, since 2022, the proportion of sustainable bonds in the bond market has stabilized at 20%, indicating that sustainable finance is becoming an important topic in the bond market. China issued $47 billion worth of sustainable bonds by 2025, ranking first in Asia. South Korea issued $17 billion in sustainable bonds, ranking second. Some Southeast Asian countries issued sustainable bonds for the first time in 2025, but the total scale were relatively small. At present, the liquidity and pricing benchmarks of the sustainable bond market in Asia are mainly provided by China and South Korea, while Southeast Asian countries offer more diverse issuers and sustainable financing projects.
The finance industry is the largest issuer of sustainable bonds, with an issuance scale of $44 billion by 2025, accounting for 47% of the market. Compared to 2024 (56 billion US dollars, accounting for 55%), there has been a slight decrease. The issuance scale of government agencies has increased from 11 billion US dollars to 15 billion US dollars, with the proportion rising to 16%, reflecting the strengthening position of the public sector in financing green infrastructure and social projects. The industrial sector and public utilities sector issued $13 billion and $8 billion respectively, which play a key role in energy transition, clean transportation, and other fields, and are key sectors for Asia’s net zero transition.
Hong Kong is the preferred jurisdiction for sustainable bond issuance in Asia, with $38 billion of sustainable bonds issued through Hong Kong in 2025, accounting for 40%. Since 2018, Hong Kong has maintained its preferred position, with advantages such as many international investors, a sound financial legal system, and active government policy support. In November 2025, the Hong Kong government issued the third batch of digital green bonds, with a total size of HKD 10 billion, making it the world’s largest digital bond issuance. The use of digital RMB and digital HKD in settlement for this digital green bond is an important exploration in the field of sustainable finance and fintech.
Outlook for the Asian Sustainable Bond Market
The International Capital Markets Association believes that sustainable bond financing in Asia has become a long-term strategic consideration for issuers and has formed a market pattern driven by large economies and increasing participation from emerging markets. Although the financial industry remains the largest source of issuance, funds are also flowing directly into key carbon reduction industries such as energy transition and infrastructure. The innovation of digital green bonds provides direction for improving the efficiency and transparency of sustainable financial markets in the future.
The future development of the sustainable bond market in Asia will depend on the following factors:
- Clarity and enforcement of decarbonization policies in jurisdictions.
- Sustainable financing capability of emerging market enterprises.
- Application of cross-border green bond standards and classification methods.
- Promotion of financial innovation tools such as digital bonds.
Reference:
The Asian International Bond Markets: Issuance Trends and Dynamics
