Green finance in APAC to grow amidst data and disclosure gaps

Green finance is proving to be a rapidly growing sector in 2021. Based on data from the Climate Bonds Initiative , 2021 green bond issuances might exceed that of last year, with $219.7b issued for the first half of 2021 compared to the US$290.1b issued in 2020. Bonds issued from the Asia-Pacific made up more than a quarter of the first half’s figures, at US$51.9b, just a few millions short from the US$53.2b issued for the entire year of 2020.

Green finance forms a part of Singapore’s Green Plan 2030, as the Lion City aims to turn itself into the centre for environmentally sustainable finance in Asia. Approximately SG$19b projects from the public sector has been identified for green financing, including the Tuas Nexus integrated water and solid waste treatment facility.

Businesses are also keen on issuing green bonds for a number of reasons, KPMG Partner for Financial Services Advisory Leon Ong toldIt’s a positive story for the company trying to do the green bond issuance. Also, by doing such a thing, you do tend to find like-minded investors and individuals out there.

He then gave three issues that need to be solved in order to scale up investments: data, definition, and disclosure. On data, he cited the lack of sources for reliable and comparable from lenders and investors alike. Moreover, definitions of certain key terms may vary from economy to economy, system to system.

But there is some hope that can be seen from the governance side of ESG that could forge a path for the future of green finance. Ruddenklau noted that, based on years of research and data on gender equality and how more equal work forces have better revenue, the financial services firm, JP Morgan, has started factoring in the ratio of male to female senior management employees into equity ratings.

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