The three-year bond, with a coupon of 3.75%, was sold at face value. The spread was 99 bp over the benchmark three-year China Development Bank yield.

Hungary issued its first green panda bond in December 2021.

Proceeds from the bond will finance and refinance green expenditures of the central budget, ÁKK said.

Lead managers for the issue were Bank of China, China Construction Bank Corporation, and Export-Import Bank of China.

In a post on Facebook, Finance Minister Mihály Varga said the issue served to expand Hungary's circle of investors, putting the financing of state debt "on several legs", as well as ensuring Hungary's continuous presence on one of the world's biggest capital markets, while strengthening its cooperation with China.

He said the proceeds from the issue could be used for "strengthening energy security and the fight against climate change".