The World Bank has launched a new funding programme with a sustainable development bond of $5 billion (£4bn).

It says “extremely strong demand” from global investors for the USD benchmark led to an order book of more than $6 billion (£4.7bn), with more than 100 investor orders.

Investors included bank treasuries, asset managers as well as pension and insurance funds.

Jingdong Hua, World Bank Vice President and Treasurer said: “This US dollar benchmark is a terrific start to our fiscal year.

“In this challenging period, investors from around the globe continue to value the World Bank’s safety, liquidity and purpose to finance sustainable development in its member countries. We are grateful for the support of market participants and look forward to working together in the year ahead.”