South Africa's Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) on Wednesday welcomed the continent's first self-labelled sustainability-linked bond listed by Netcare, the leading private healthcare provider in South Africa, in partnership with Standard Bank.

The JSE said the two entities raised a R1 billion (about 67 million U.S. dollars), three-year, unsecured note priced at 5.4 percent (3 month Jilbar +175bps). The funds raised through the bond will enable the healthcare group to fulfil its sustainability objectives of reducing its carbon footprint by procuring more renewable energy and further improving its water efficiency.

"As a champion of sustainability and sustainable economic growth, the JSE welcomes the Netcare and Standard Bank partnership which has debuted Africa's very first sustainability-linked bond. We are thrilled to see organisations working towards building a low carbon economy and creating a sustainable future for all," says Sam Mokorosi, head of Origination and Deals at the JSE.

He stated that if Netcare achieves its sustainability targets linked to the bond, they will benefit from a lower interest rate, thereby directly linking its sustainability performance with its cost of capital.The JSE is also a signatory to the United Nations-backed Principles for Responsible Investment and a founding partner of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (SSE).