Sri Lanka’s first blue bond dually listed on NSE IX at GIFT City
The Morning: Sri Lanka’s first-ever Rs. 3 billion blue bond issuance by DFCC Bank has been dually listed on the NSE International Exchange (NSE IX) at GIFT City, marking the first blue bond to be admitted for trading within India’s International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) jurisdiction.
The dual listing has been facilitated under a Memorandum of Understanding exchanged between NSE IX and the Colombo Stock Exchange at GIFT City on Friday (27 February), which is aimed at strengthening cross-border capital market collaboration, enabling dual listings, and promoting innovative financial products across jurisdictions.
Primarily listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), the bond’s admission on NSE IX expands its international visibility and investor access, while reinforcing GIFT City’s growing role as a platform for sustainable finance instruments.
DFCC Bank in November 2025 had introduced blue bonds to finance the sustainable use of marine resources, supply of clean drinking water, aquatic pollution control and the promotion of related sustainable economic activities, while offering an attractive return to investors.
Blue bonds, a subset of green bonds, channel proceeds specifically toward marine conservation, sustainable fisheries, ocean-based economic activity and broader water-related environmental projects. The listing is expected to help diversify the investor base by enabling participation through GIFT City’s offshore regulatory framework.
Earlier, in June 2025, NSE IX hosted DFCC Bank PLC’s leadership at GIFT IFSC to mark the landmark listing of its Rs. 2.5 billion foreign-currency green bonds – Sri Lanka’s first renewable energy-focused capital market debt instrument and the first foreign corporate issuance admitted to trading on the exchange.
OSL take:
Following years of discussions, Sri Lanka’s commitment to push for a blue and green economy has witnessed a positive step in the listing of blue bonds in NSE IX at Gift City in India. These blue bonds are expected to finance the sustainable use of marine resources, supply of clean drinking water, aquatic pollution control and the promotion of related sustainable economic activities, while offering an attractive return to investors. This has also presented a business/investment opportunity for foreign businesses/investors on the lookout for lucrative opportunities in the region, with special focus on Sri Lanka, which has positioned itself as an emerging business destination in the South Asian region. Sri Lanka earlier launched green bonds to support the country’s renewable energy generation sector. With Sri Lanka expressing commitment towards sustainability as it endeavours to become a regional hub. Foreign businesses/investors could explore the emerging opportunities in Sri Lanka’s growing blue and green economic solutions.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/20260305/Z_4 |