France has attracted major institutional backers for its inaugural green bond, launched yesterday, including Dutch and French pension investors. Dutch asset managers APG, PGGM, and MN subscribed for a combined amount of €967m, with French pension funds ERAFP and Ircantec also among those known to have participated in the issuance.

The deal was a €7bn 22-year green bond issued by Agence France Trésor (AFT), the government office managing French sovereign debt. The bond will pay a coupon of 1.75% and was priced at 100.162 for an issue yield of 1.741%.

It was the first green bond to be issued by a euro-zone sovereign. In December last year, Poland became the first European sovereign to issue a green bond, having priced a €750m five-year deal. It was also the largest and longest-dated green bond to have been issued so far, according to AFT. France’s green bond issue was more than three times oversubscribed, drawing €23bn of demand.