Tokyo, July 30, 2019 – The World Bank and Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Company (Fukoku Life) have partnered to raise awareness of the need to address food loss and waste issues and Fukoku Life has invested in a Sustainable Development Bond which supports the financing of sustainable development projects and programs in World Bank member countries. The bond was issued by the World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD, Aaa/AAA) for a total amount of SEK 500 million and Fukoku life is the sole investor in this transaction.
Barclays is the sole underwriter and distributor of the bond.
About Food Loss and Waste
Food loss means the reduction in quantity or quality of food from production to distribution in the supply chain. Food waste occurs at the retail and consumer levels, where food that is otherwise edible is discarded. Around one-third of all food produced globally each year –1.3 billion tons –is lost or wasted. At the same time, more than 800 million people of the world’s population are suffering from hunger. This issue is outlined by SDG 12.3.
IBRD provides support to middle-income countries to address food loss and waste from farm to fork, with investments in infrastructure, access to markets and logistics, as well as waste management. The World Bank is also working to raise people's awareness of the importance of combating food loss and waste which is a critical global issue. Sustainable Development Bonds support the financing of a portfolio of sustainable development projects including those which help combat food loss and waste, among others.
World Bank Project Examples
Mexico: Grain Storage and Information for Agricultural Competitiveness
The project will contribute to developing market conditions that enable producers to participate in a storage system that incentivizes productivity, reduces losses through post-harvest management, and facilitates access to financial mechanisms. Activities to improve the storage infrastructure include the construction, rehabilitation, or upgrading of existing grain storage facilities, including collection and trade centers.
IBRD Financing: $120 million
For more information: https://projects.worldbank.org/P160570?lang=en
Angola: Smallholder Agriculture Development and Commercialization Project
The project aims to not only increase productivity and production, but also to improve the lives of rural poor people by reducing poverty, promoting balanced growth, and transforming agriculture in the project areas. The project will increase agriculture institutional capacity and address critical bottlenecks in the value chain. Activities to address post-harvest challenges include investments aimed at increasing value addition, reducing post-harvest losses, and strengthening market linkages for key priority food and vegetable crop. Investments will target packaging, storage, transport, small-scale processing, grading, and other post-harvest management activities.
IBRD Financing: $70 million
For more information: https://projects.worldbank.org/P154447?lang=en
*These project examples are for illustrative purposes only and no assurance can be provided that disbursements for projects with these specific characteristics will be made by the World Bank during the term of the bonds described herein.
*This press release is not an offer for sale of bonds of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development ("IBRD"), also known in the capital markets as "World Bank". Any offering of the bonds will be made only by means of a prospectus containing detailed information that will be made available through Barclays Bank PLC and is subject to restrictions under the laws of several countries. Bonds may not be offered or sold except in compliance with all such laws.
*The net proceeds from the sale of the bonds are used by the World Bank to finance sustainable development projects and programs in the World Bank’s member countries without being committed or earmarked for lending to, or financing of, any particular projects or programs. Returns on the bonds are not linked to the performance of any particular project or program.
About the World Bank
The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD), rated Aaa/AAA (Moody’s/S&P), is an international organization created in 1944 and the original member of the World Bank Group. It operates as a global development cooperative owned by 189 nations. It provides its members with financing, expertise and coordination services so they can achieve equitable and sustainable economic growth in their national economies and find effective solutions to pressing regional and global economic and environmental problems. The World Bank has two main goals: to end extreme poverty and promote shared prosperity. It seeks to achieve them primarily by providing loans, risk management products, and expertise on development-related disciplines to its borrowing member government clients in middle-income countries and other creditworthy countries, and by coordinating responses to regional and global challenges. It has been issuing sustainable development bonds in the international capital markets for over 70 years to fund its activities that achieve a positive impact. Information on World Bank bonds for investors is available on the World Bank Treasury website: www.worldbank.org/debtsecurities.
