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Green Finance Surges in Middle East in First Half of 2021

Red Sea Development Company completes the 1st stage of platinum certification in the “Plan & Design” criteria of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - (SPA)
Red Sea Development Company completes the 1st stage of platinum certification in the “Plan & Design” criteria of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - (SPA)
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Green Finance Surges in Middle East in First Half of 2021

Red Sea Development Company completes the 1st stage of platinum certification in the “Plan & Design” criteria of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - (SPA)
Red Sea Development Company completes the 1st stage of platinum certification in the “Plan & Design” criteria of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - (SPA)

Green financing linked to sustainability projects in the Middle East and North Africa region increased by 38 percent and reached $6.4 billion in the first half of 2021, according to a report published by Bloomberg.

The report attributed the increase to the Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC)’s receiving a green loan of a value of $3.8 billion.

The First Abu Dhabi Bank took the lead by issuing Yuan-pegged green bonds with a value of CNY150 million in June 2021.

In March 2021, the TRSDC secured a green loan of 14.12 billion Saudi riyals ($3.76 billion).

"As the global ESG [environment social and governance] market may represent a third of global AUMs [assets under management] by 2025, ESG debt issuance has surpassed $3 trillion with record speed in May 2021,” said Adeline Diab, Bloomberg’s head of ESG and Thematic Investing for Emea and Apac regions.

Global green and sustainability-linked debt issuance volumes stood at approximately $541 billion in the first six months of 2021.

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Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
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Washington Urges Israel to Extend Cooperation with Palestinian Banks

A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)
A West Bank Jewish settlement is seen in the background, while a protestor waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin in 2012. (AP)

The United States on Thursday called on Israel to extend its cooperation with Palestinian banks for another year, to avoid blocking vital transactions in the occupied West Bank.

"I am glad that Israel has allowed its banks to continue cooperating with Palestinian banks, but I remain convinced that a one-year extension of the waiver to facilitate this cooperation is needed," US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Thursday, on the sidelines of a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Rio de Janeiro.

In May, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to cut off a vital banking channel between Israel and the West Bank in response to three European countries recognizing the State of Palestine.

On June 30, however, Smotrich extended a waiver that allows cooperation between Israel's banking system and Palestinian banks in the occupied West Bank for four months, according to Israeli media, according to AFP.

The Times of Israel newspaper reported that the decision on the waiver was made at a cabinet meeting in a "move that saw Israel legalize several West Bank settlement outposts."

The waiver was due to expire at the end of June, and the extension permitted Israeli banks to process payments for salaries and services to the Palestinian Authority in shekels, averting a blow to a Palestinian economy already devastated by the war in Gaza.

The Israeli threat raised serious concerns in the United States, which said at the time it feared "a humanitarian crisis" if banking ties were cut.

According to Washington, these banking channels are key to nearly $8 billion of imports from Israel to the West Bank, including electricity, water, fuel and food.