Toyota To Raise $4.7B Via Debt For ESG Projects: Bloomberg

Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE: TM) plans to raise a record $4.7 billion (500 billion yen) from the sale of yen and foreign currency sustainability bonds to finance environmental and social projects, Bloomberg reports. Toyota calls it “Woven Planet Bonds.” 

• The offering proceeds will be utilized for developing zero-emission and assisted mobility vehicles and higher use of renewable energy. It will also be used for its 175-acre high-tech, sensor-laden metropolis Woven City project at Mount Fuji’s base in Japan. 
• The city would principally function as a laboratory to gauge Toyota’s latest smart technologies, including autonomous vehicles, personal mobility, and smart homes.
• The issuance of ESG (environmental, social, and governance) bonds has climbed in Japan at par with the worldwide spike in demand for the debt, with deals rising 14% to a record high of 319.9 billion yen in 2021.
• Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga had sworn to decarbonize Japan by 2050 and bar the sale of new gasoline-only vehicles by the mid-2030s. It has led to increased carbon emission reduction initiatives by the companies.
• Price action: TM stock was down 0.13% at $149.15 on the last check Tuesday.