Sustainability Bonds Issuance for Affordable Housing Development: Case Study of National Housing Authority

Abstract

This research aims to study the concept and framework of sustainability bonds issuance for affordable housing development of the National Housing Authority (NHA). The research method was applied documentary approach which collected data and information from secondary sources and using content analysis methods. The results of the study revealed that NHA has been the first organization to issue sustainability bonds for housing projects.  There were 2 bond types including social bond and sustainability bond which were spent for developing 2,956 units of houses (11.4% of NHA’s housing stocks) and serving the Housing Finance project for Low-income Groups.  The value of such bonds was only 45 % of the total bonds which issued by NHA during 2019-2024. The bond period was 5-15 years with an interest rate of 1.02-1.90 % per year.  The sustainability-bond issuance had been aligned with national and international requirements such as Thai National Strategies, UN-SDGs, Sustainable Financial Framework, Green Building Certifications, and Sustainability Bonds Principles in approval process.  ADB recommended that NHA should select green building standard which meet international standard in order to extend opportunity for fund raising through sustainability bonds issuance.  Due to small scale of sustainability bond issued recently, therefore Thai government should encourage the relevant organizations to issue more bonds for affordable and energy-saving housing projects.