UK announces £100m for public markets programme to deliver SDGs

The UK’s Minister for Development, Anneliese Dodds, has announced up to £100 million for the UK’s flagship public markets programme, MOBILIST, which will provide businesses focused on delivering the SDGs with the anchor funding and expert advice they need to list on stock exchanges around the world, allowing them to attract significant sums of additional private investment.

She also celebrated the issuance of the first Climate Investment Fund (CIF) Capital Markets Mechanism (CCMM) bond last month, which raised $500 million (approximately £400 million) for energy and clean technology projects in low- and middle-income countries.

The CCMM, launched by the Prime Minister at COP29, is a new financial mechanism to leverage future loan repayments by issuing bonds on capital markets.

Speaking at the London Stock Exchange, Minister Dodds praised the “expertise, experience and dynamism” of the UK’s financial services sector and pledged to put this expertise “at the heart of how we meet the opportunities and challenges of our time,” including accelerating the delivery of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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These goals seek to address global challenges, including poverty, inequality, and climate change, to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all by 2030.

Minister Dodds outlined how investment in the Global South is an opportunity for UK financial services “to marry investment in the economies and technologies of the future, with the experience and expertise of the City of London,” adding that the government will hold up its end of the bargain by working internationally to reform the global financial system to provide greater opportunity and stability.

Minister for Development Anneliese Dodds said: “With businesses and the government working hand in hand to drive investment in the Global South, we can unlock growth, jobs, trade, investment, and pride in our economy overseas and here at home.

“This government is enabling the financial services sector to flourish and use its expertise and depth of capital to invest in the markets and technologies of the future.

“Through partnerships like this, we will deliver on the Plan for Change, drive domestic growth, and create a world free from poverty on a liveable planet.”

The MOBILIST funding is expected to generate between £400 million and £600 million of new investments in businesses across emerging markets in Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

These investments will support economic growth, sustainable development, and climate action in local markets.

As today’s announcements demonstrate, this government’s modern approach to development focuses on harnessing the power of the private sector in mobilising the finance emerging markets need to grow.

This will create future export markets for the UK and new overseas investment opportunities, supporting domestic growth and delivering on the government’s Plan for Change.

It will also make the UK safer and more stable by tackling the drivers of conflict, climate crises, and economic decline in partner countries.

UK Climate Minister Kerry McCarthy said, “This is a historic moment for tackling the climate crisis, with the first bond raising $500 million to accelerate the global clean energy transition and support the flow of climate finance to developing countries.

“Public finance alone cannot tackle the scale of this challenge, and this mechanism will help leverage the private finance needed to support those on the frontline of a changing climate.

“Its listing in the UK positions London as a green finance capital. By working with partners such as the World Bank, the UK can drive the action needed to grow the economy and reap the rewards of net zero.”

Minister Dodds made the announcements during a speech to the UK financial sector, including pension funds, insurers, banks, and development finance organisations, after joining a market opening ceremony at the London Stock Exchange.

Julia Hoggett, CEO of the London Stock Exchange, added: “Flows of investment are vital to generating sustainable growth both in the UK and around the world.

London’s capital markets have long played a leading role in driving flows of capital to where they need to go, and we welcome the focus on fuelling growth and supporting the just transition to net zero.

“As part of these efforts, we are proud to celebrate the listing of the Climate Investment Funds’ Capital Markets Mechanism on the London Stock Exchange.

This pioneering bond issuance programme not only brings a new financing tool to our market but is facilitating critical investment in sustainable and clean assets.”

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