Electric transmission company ISA Interchile was distinguished by the prestigious international publication LatinFinance in its “Deals of the Year Awards 2021,” where the company received the ESG Deal of the Year award – or best sustainable financial operation – for the issuance of its first green project bond for USD 1.2 billion over a 35-year term.

The instrument issued by ISA Interchile aims to refinance the debt commitments acquired during the construction phase of the 2×500 kV Cardones-Polpaico transmission line, infrastructure that opened the doors to the country’s decarbonization plan and thus contribute to mitigating climate change.

“We are very happy to receive this prestigious recognition for our company, as it puts us in a very good position within the capital markets and investors, highlighting the confidence we generate internationally around sustainable energy development in Chile. We want to continue growing, and for that, we hope to continue reinforcing our commitment to the decarbonization of the country,” highlighted Gabriel Melguizo, general manager of ISA Interchile.

Meanwhile, the company’s finance manager, Aquiles Vargas, explained that “it is an honor to be awarded by this prestigious financial magazine. The issuance of this green project bond is a historic milestone for ISA Interchile due to three fundamental aspects: its ESG certification, which is of utmost importance in the current context of climate change, its magnitude, exceeding one billion dollars, and its high rating granted by the main rating agencies.”

The energy company’s distinction makes its debut in this edition of the LatinFinance awards and recognizes the best sustainable financial operation of the year associated with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria. Factors such as innovation, time, foresight, quality of execution, environmental and social impact of financial instruments, are part of the evaluation criteria to determine the winners.

It is worth noting that the instrument listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities achieved a long-term BBB+ rating from Fitch Ratings, while Moody’s granted it a Baa1 rating. In turn, the credit title presented by the electric transmission company was evaluated by Sustainalytics, a specialized agency that certified potential investors that this green bond meets environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria.

Likewise, this transaction became the largest green bond issuance for a project in the electricity sector in Latin America, while obtaining the lowest financing cost in dollars of any corporate project bond in the region and being the longest-term dollar bond.