The EU issues the second tranche of 9 billion euros of social bonds in 2021 in response to the epidemic

　　China News Service, Brussels, March 11 (Reporter De Yongjian) The European Union announced on the 10th the issuance of the second batch of social bonds in 2021, with an issuance of 9 billion euros, to raise funds to alleviate the huge employment market caused by the new crown pneumonia epidemic Shock.

　　According to the announcement issued by the European Commission on the same day, the 9 billion euro social bonds are 15-year bonds, which will be repaid in June 2036; the bonds attract many institutional investors to subscribe, and the subscription multiple is close to 10 times.

　　This is the second batch of social bonds issued by the European Union in 2021.

At the end of January, the EU issued the first 14 billion euros of social bonds in 2021, including 10 billion euros 7-year bonds and 4 billion euros 30-year bonds. The 7-year bonds are issued at a premium and are negative-yield bonds.

　　After the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic at the beginning of last year, the European Union launched the "Emergency Assistance for Unemployment Risk Mitigation" project ("SURE") to help its member states stabilize the job market. Concessional loans are allocated to member states to pay unemployment benefits and fund entrepreneurial projects.

　　Including the 9 billion euros of social bonds issued this time, the EU has issued 5 batches of social bonds so far, with a total issuance of 62.5 billion euros, most of which have been oversubscribed by more than 10 times; according to the current EU plan, until December 31, 2022 The EU social bond issuance scale can reach up to 100 billion euros. If the economic situation does not improve by then, the EU can issue additional social bonds.

　　In terms of member states, EU statistics show that after the first batch of social bonds issued in 2021 at the end of January this year, a total of 15 member states have received preferential loans allocated by the EU, including countries such as Italy and Spain that have been hit hard by the epidemic; the second batch of social bonds in 2021 After the bond issuance, the number of member states that receive preferential loans from the EU will increase to 16. Overall, the EU is currently preparing to allocate preferential loans to 19 member states, with a total amount of 90.6 billion euros.

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