We were delighted to partner with UBS for a special series focused on China’s financial sector. Part three of the series, Untapped Potential: The New Landscape for ESG Investment in China, was hosted on the morning of Wednesday, May 12 for members in the Asia-Pacific region.
ESG investment in the Asia-Pacific region has been growing exponentially, supported by a strong steer from governments and regulators to scale up green finance. Driven by robust investor demand across the board—from family offices to institutional investors to sovereign wealth funds—assets under management of APAC-based ESG funds have now topped $65 billion, up from just $5 billion in 2018. Despite this momentum, China still accounts for only about 10% of total regional ESG assets under management, highlighting tremendous potential for growth. China has also been a global leader in green bonds, with continued innovation in areas such as carbon neutrality bonds and green certificates of deposit. Moreover, China’s pledge to be carbon neutral by 2060 has fueled an aggressive shift towards clean energy technologies—notably in renewable energy and electric vehicles, which will attract significant investment over the next few years.
Speakers:
- Bertrand Jabouley, Head of Sustainable Finance, Asia-Pacific, S&P Global Ratings
- Deborah Lehr, Vice Chairman and Executive Director, Paulson Institute and Chief Executive Officer, Basilinna
- Xiaopeng Li, Chairman, China Everbright Group Ltd
- Ken Liu, Executive Director, Head of China Hong Kong Utilities and Renewables Research, UBS
- Wensheng Peng, Chief Economist, CICC
- Mingchun Sun, Chief Economist, Haitong International Securities Group Limited
- Mervyn Tang, Senior Director and Global Head of ESG Research, Sustainable Finance, Fitch Ratings
- Xiaoshu Wang, Executive Director, ESG Research, MSCI
- Ronald Wu, Head of ESG & Sustainability Research, APAC, UBS
The event was by invitation only.