INTHEBLACK June 2022 - Magazine - Page 22
F E AT U R E
// G R E E N F I N A N C E
(A$86.8 billion), according to Bloomberg. The
market looks set to develop further with the country
pledging to reach carbon neutrality by 2060.
In Singapore, green finance forms part of
the Green Plan 2030, and will support the
city state’s ambition to become the centre for
environmentally sustainable finance in Asia. The
government’s 2021 budget included plans to issue
green bonds for S$19 billion (A$19.6 billion)
worth of infrastructure projects, including the
Tuas Nexus integrated water and solid waste
treatment facility. The government is also helping
companies to access ESG financing through the
Green and Sustainability Linked Loan Grant
Scheme for corporations and banks, which aims
to reduce issuance costs.
Hong Kong is also increasing its presence in
the ESG sector. In 2020, green bond issuance
reached US$2.1 billion (A$3 billion), according
to data from the Climate Bonds Initiative.
“Hong Kong, and much of Asia for that matter,
is riding on the global trend of sustainable
finance and investment in terms of how society
should allocate capital for a more sustainable
future,” says Felix Lam CPA, head of investment
stewardship for Asia ex-Japan at JP Morgan
Asset Management.
22 ITB June 2022
“Hong Kong is an important centre for finance
and investing,” adds Lam. “It’s also a major
gateway to Asia, and to China in particular, and
this is one of the market forces behind Hong
Kong’s sustainable finance industry.”
“Climate risk is now
globally recognised as
financial risk, and it’s
driving investor
decisions. Debt and
equity investors
realise that we need
that level of disclosure
transparency, so that
people can make the
right decisions.”
NANCY WANG,
ANZ HONG KONG
DRIVING THE GREEN AGENDA
Investor demand is a key driver of sustainable
finance growth across Asia-Pacific. Results of
the latest Global Private Equity Barometer,
Winter 2021-22 from Coller Capital, for
instance, shows about a third of Asia-Pacific
private equity investors had declined to invest
in a fund due to ESG concerns. In Europe, the
proportion rose to 56 per cent last year, up from
a third five years ago.
“Investors are pushing for greater transparency
around ESG,” says Terence Jeyaretnam, Oceania
climate change and sustainability services partner
at EY. “Regulatory bodies are also wanting more
information.”
From 6 April this year, for instance, it
became mandatory for Britain’s largest
businesses to disclose their climate-related
risks and opportunities, in line with Task Force
on Climate-related Financial Disclosures
(TCFD) recommendations. The New Zealand