SHIPPING giant AP Moller-Maersk is selling US dollar-denominated green bonds for the first time ever, the latest company to test investor appetite in a market challenged by political pressure.

The Copenhagen-based company is selling the bonds maturing in 10 years, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The offering may yield 1.9 percentage points above Treasuries, said the source, who asked not to be identified as the details are private.

All proceeds from the offering will help finance or refinance green assets, which may include fixed assets, capital and operating expenses, as well as acquisitions of companies that derive at least 90 per cent of their revenue from activities such as clean transportation and green buildings, said the source.

Maersk declined to comment.

The company issued its first green bond in November 2021, raising 500 million euros (S$731 million) with a 10-year note. The company at the time said the proceeds will be used to finance the planned purchase of eight methanol-powered vessels.

A push to decarbonise the shipping sector, which has long depended on carbon-intensive heavy fuel oil, is gaining momentum but still has a long way to go, according to analysts at BloombergNEF. Container lines including Maersk are ordering more methanol-fuelled ships, indicating green methanol is their low-carbon fuel of choice, the analysts wrote in a note last month.

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“It’s now all hands on deck as the sector searches for a fuel that can help it clean up its act,” wrote the analysts.

Maersk’s debt deal will test investor demand in the US, where sales of sustainable bonds have plunged amid a political backlash against investments tied to environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals. Money managers are scrutinising ESG-related financing instruments more heavily due to concerns that companies might be overstating the benefits of the bonds.

Companies as a result are issuing fewer green bonds denominated in dollars. Corporations have raised about US$32 billion in dollar-denominated ESG bonds this year through Sep 11, a 53 per cent slump compared with the same period last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Maersk is working to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2040, a decade earlier than its initial 2050 ambition, the company said in January 2022. Its 2030 targets include a reduction by half in emissions per container transported by the Maersk Ocean fleet and a 70 per cent reduction in absolute emissions from fully controlled terminals, according to the statement.

Barclays, Citigroup, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley are managing the bond sale, the source said. BLOOMBERG