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Washington, DC, October 23, 2012 ¨C Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, rated Aaa/AAA) has issued three new green bonds. These bring the total number of World Bank Green Bonds to 52 transactions in 17 different currencies for a total amount of almost USD 3.5 billion. The three new transactions were distributed to Japanese retail and institutional investors through Daiwa Securities Co. Ltd. as the lead manager. A summary of the terms for the transactions is below. 

¡°As with any other fixed income investments, investors enjoy a financial return. But these investments also contribute to global solutions like tackling climate change and poverty reduction. One special attraction of World Bank Green Bonds is that investors can easily learn about the types of projects the funds are supporting and understand how they benefit others. Daiwa Securities has significantly contributed to promoting green bonds and lead-managed 16 transactions," says Mr. Takashi Hibino President and CEO, Daiwa Securities Group, Inc.

There are eligible projects in 20 countries that are being supported by World Bank Green Bonds. They present investors with a rare opportunity to support climate change solutions within their high-grade fixed income investment mandates.

¡°We are continuously working to help solve global-scale challenges such as climate change by promoting alliances ¨C also with financial institutions such as Daiwa Securities that focused on impact investment. And I am very grateful for the support we get from Japanese investors in achieving this common goal," says Ms. Madelyn Antoncic, Vice President and Treasurer, World Bank.

Since 2008, when the World Bank issued the first green bond, there has been growing interest in the green bond market from investors in the US, Europe and Japan. Like all projects financed by the World Bank, projects that are eligible for support from World Bank Green Bonds, are designed to help end poverty and improve standards of living in its member countries. At the same time, World Bank Green Bonds specifically focus on projects that help mitigate climate change by supporting investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency activities, and they help countries adapt to the inevitable consequences of climate change.

For example, projects in Colombia, Mexico, and India are helping shift urban transport systems to cleaner and safer rapid bus transit systems. In the energy sector, projects in China, Ukraine, and Turkey are providing more energy efficient options in areas such as heating in buildings and industrial processes. To lower the impacts of climate change, projects in Tunisia and the Dominican Republic help protect scarce water sources and better prepare for recurring hurricanes and tropical storms.

About the World Bank

For more information on World Bank Green Bonds, please visit . 

Å·ÃÀÈÕb´óƬ (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, IBRD), rated Aaa/AAA (Moody¡¯s/S&P), is an international organization created in 1944. It operates as a global development cooperative owned by 188 nations. It provides its members with financing, expertise and coordination services so they can achieve equitable and sustainable economic growth in their national economies and find effective solutions to pressing regional and global economic and environmental problems. The overriding goal is to achieve major, sustainable improvements in standards of living worldwide. It has been issuing bonds in the international capital markets for over 60 years to fund its activities. Information for investors is available on the World Bank Treasury website: ().