Archive for July, 2017

Bond to funnel benefits to women — Phnom Penh Post

An $8 million bond set to debut on Singapore’s stock exchange will mobilise private capital to support social enterprises and microfinance institutions (MFIs) in Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines, providing nearly half a million women in these countries with more access to credit in order to improve their livelihoods.

The Women’s Livelihood Bond (WLB), billed as the first-ever social sustainability bond, was developed by Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), a Singapore-based organisation that works toward increasing the access to capital for social enterprises in Asia. Read More. 

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Freyr Energy: Providing Solar Power to Villages in India

After four hours of bumpy drive into the hilly areas near Visakhapatnam, India, we reached our destination – an isolated village which was inaccessible by road until two years ago, and remains disconnected to grid power. Yet, utility poles with LED street lights, together with a solar system, are prominently placed across the village of 12 families. We were warmly invited by the village chief to visit his house. Surrounded by a group of villagers, he switched on the television and started describing the changes this solar energy system brought to the village.

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IIX Impact Chats Return with a Discussion of ‘Business for Inclusion’

Inclusion is a topic central to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In order to achieve the ambitious targets, it is essential for all people to become agents of change and contribute towards building a larger included society. Businesses, in particular, are crucial in creating innovative market-driven approaches that catalyze progress towards a future where no one is left behind.

IIX and the impact investing movement believes in creating a more inclusive world where financial systems, economic opportunities, and social good act as catalysts across geographies. To foster progress on this front and continue to be a thought leader, IIX has brought back its community-wide Impact Chat Series and congratulates its second cohort of international students from the IIX Impact Institute who recently completed their Executive Certificate Program.

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Women’s Livelihood Bond™: Unlocking Private Sector Capital for Social Good

IIX is excited to announce the closing of the $8 million Women’s Livelihood Bond (WLB)™ that will impact the lives of over 385,000 women across Southeast Asia. This innovative bond is the world’s first impact investing instrument with a dual focus on social and financial returns to be listed on a stock exchange. 

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IIX and DBS Unite To List S$11 Million Women’s Livelihood Bond on SGX – BLLNR

Singapore-based impact enterprise Impact Investment Exchange (IIX) with the support of DBS Bank has priced a US$8 million (S$11 million) bond to positively influence the lives of more than 385,000 women in Southeast Asia, specifically in Cambodia, the Philippines and Vietnam. As the world’s first social sustainability bond to be listed on stock exchange, the four-year Women’s Livelihood Bond (WLB) holds a coupon rate of 5.65% per annum. Read More.

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And the GSG Honors go to… A year of growth in impact investing — ImpactAlpha

Winners draw our attention, which is why awards and contests and prizes have proliferated madly in our attention-challenged world.

And so, this week’s awards at the “GSG Impact Summit” in Chicago will draw attention to winners of the first GSG Honors among the growing number of players in the emerging industry of impact investing.

But pay attention as well to the second part of the GSG Honors for Entrepreneur, Asset Owner, Asset Manager and Market-Builders … of the Year. That second part — “of the Year” — signals the remarkable acceleration in impact investing even in the last 12 months. Read More. 

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DBS, IIX to list women’s livelihood bond on SGX – Singapore Business Review

It has received over 60% of investment capital from Asian investors. DBS Bank and IIX closed the world’s first social sustainability bond to be listed on SGX within a month, the Women’s Livelihood Bond (WLB). The US$8m ($11.1m) bond provides loans to social enterprises and microfinance institutions and expected to impact the livelihoods of more than 385,000 women in Cambodia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. It has received over 60% of investment capital from Asian investors. Read More.

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Singapore-based IIX’s $8m bond to help women in Southeast Asia – The Daily Star

The Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), a Singapore-based impact enterprise, has closed the world’s first social sustainability bond expected to be listed on the Singapore Exchange. The $8 million Women’s Livelihood Bond is the first in a series of IIX social sustainability bonds. The bond is projected to empower over 385,000 women across Southeast Asia through increased credit access, market linkages, and affordable goods and services, IIX said in a statement yesterday. Read More.

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World’s first listed social bond draws private banking clients – The Business Times

SINGAPORE’S budding market for social and sustainability bonds took another step forward on Thursday with an US$8 million issuance of 5.65 per cent four-year Women’s Livelihood Bonds by Impact Investment Exchange (IIX) to be listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). This is believed to be the world’s first social sustainability bond listed on a stock exchange, with robust take-up among private banking clients. Read More.

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Social sustainability bond to debut on SGX – The Straits Times

SINGAPORE – A new bond to debut on the Singapore Exchange, called the Women’s Livelihood Bond, said to be the world’s first social sustainability bond to be listed on a stock exchange. The US$8 million bond provides loans to social enterprises and microfinance institutions, which, in turn, aim to help more than 385,000 women in Cambodia, the Philippines and Vietnam. Singapore-based firm Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), which is dedicated to social enterprises and impact investing, worked with DBS Bank on this. Read More.

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