Recently, CNOOC completed its first innovative green bond issuance through its financial leasing platform. The green medium-term notes raised in early June are specifically allocated to the No. 9 and No. 10 storage tank projects at the Jiangsu LNG receiving terminal, marking CNOOC’s first “green bond + financial leasing” model transaction. This innovative practice of revitalizing existing green assets and reducing financing costs through leasing platforms provides new insights for developing green finance in the energy sector.
On June 4, CNOOC Leasing, a subsidiary of CNOOC, successfully issued the first green “Two New” medium-term notes of 2025 in the interbank bond market, raising 800 million yuan with a coupon rate of 1.83%. These notes are the first in China to receive dual “green” and “Two New” certification for a financial leasing company’s medium-term notes and set a record for the lowest coupon rate among central SOE leasing companies, attracting strong market demand. The notes achieved a subscription multiple of 3.13 times, the highest in CNOOC Leasing’s bond issuance history, reflecting strong investor confidence.
By innovatively integrating green bonds with financial leasing, CNOOC Leasing successfully facilitated the first 830 million yuan financing disbursement for CNOOC Gas & Power Group’s Jiangsu LNG project. This collaboration leverages the “green bond + leasing” model to enhance internal resource synergy, marking a key step in CNOOC’s innovation in industrial-financial integration.
Innovative Practice: “Green Bond + Leasing” Opens New Financing Channels
CNOOC Leasing and CNOOC Gas & Power Group deepened collaboration by innovatively applying green bonds and other financing tools to create an integrated “green bond + leasing” solution. The two parties reached a cooperation agreement in March, signed the leasing contract on May 14, and disbursed the first tranche of funds on June 6 following the successful issuance of the green medium-term notes.
This innovative model leverages the low-cost advantage of green bonds and combines it with the structured features of financial leasing to precisely meet the full-cycle funding needs of clean energy projects. It establishes a low-cost, high-efficiency financing channel for the Jiangsu LNG project, effectively reducing costs and improving efficiency.
Unlike traditional green bonds that directly fund new projects, this initiative adopts a “sale-leaseback” model. Jiangsu LNG transferred its operational storage tank assets to the leasing company, forming the green asset base for bond issuance. This design resolves the qualification challenges of joint ventures issuing bonds directly while enabling the securitization of CNOOC’s green assets, integrating previously dispersed assets and significantly lowering financing costs.
Dual Value: Financial Optimization and Green Transformation
The model creates value in two dimensions: financially, bond financing replaces traditional loans to optimize debt structure. Compared to bank loans, bond financing better captures opportunities from declining market interest rates. CNOOC Leasing has adopted a diversified issuance strategy combining ultra-short-term and medium-term notes, raising 3.8 billion yuan since November last year with financing costs averaging 52 basis points lower than bank loans.
For green transformation, this model overcomes certification bottlenecks for certain projects. By converting existing green assets into leased assets and issuing asset-backed bonds, it broadens the scope of green financing. Although the Jiangsu LNG storage tanks are already operational, the debt restructuring qualifies under green bond standards for “adjusting debt structures of green projects,” securing green certification.
It is reported that CNOOC plans to replicate this model for the Fujian LNG project and extend it to more new energy infrastructure projects in the future.
