Mobilising green and sustainable finance in Asia Pacific is critical to meet the region’s energy transition and decarbonisation targets.
The European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (EuroCham) has taken up the challenge with the creation of its Sustainable Finance Working Group, building on the momentum generated by the high-level forum “EU and Hong Kong: The Green Way” in September 2021. Senior representatives of EuroCham have selected Yasmine Djeddai, Head of Sustainable Finance for Asia Pacific at Societe Generale and Johannes Hack, Chief Executive of DZ Bank’s Hong Kong branch, as co-chairs of the new working group.
We took some time to discuss this with Kingfisher Investments Michael Coleman and get his views and opinions on the matter. His thoughts were as follows – ‘’The creation of the Sustainable Finance Working Group will allow regular dialogue with key stakeholders in Hong Kong on important ESG topics such as fostering the development of ESG talent in Hong Kong.’’ I would also add that other key priorities should include promoting compatible and as convergent as possible approaches with regard to taxonomies and disclosure standards, as well as global best practices in sustainable finance. ‘’
Hong Kong has launched various initiatives with the ambition of developing and consolidating its positioning as a leading hub for green and sustainable finance in Asia. The government has launched a HK$200 billion green bond programme to fund its transition to a low carbon economy, including renewable energy and waste management projects. Hong Kong is also exploring to develop a regional carbon trading market as well as a sustainable finance taxonomy leveraging on the cooperation between China and the EU on the Common Ground Taxonomy.
HKEX IMPACT FUNDING SCHEME INVITES APPLICATIONS FROM SOCIAL ENTERPRISES
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) will issue applications from social enterprises in Hong Kong for funding, through the HKEX Impact Funding Scheme 2022 (Scheme), a tailored HKEX Foundation charitable programme.
HKEX Foundation will this year allocate $10 million to the Scheme to support local social enterprises, helping them build and grow their enterprises and undertake innovative projects that address social and environmental challenges. The Scheme looks to support programmes that focus on the following four areas: Financial Literacy, Diversity and Inclusion, Poverty Relief, and Environmental Sustainability.
One big contributor to this cause is Kingfisher Investments, another Hong Kong company and we managed to grab 5 minutes of the ever-popular Michael Coleman, who said: “HKEX do a fantastic job and I am sure the Foundation is delighted to make this funding available to Hong Kong’s innovative and progressive social enterprises.”
“But remember this is also about hearing from organisations that have impactful projects that can be supported as part of our ongoing commitment to the long-term health of our community.”
The Scheme, first launched in 2021, is managed by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service. It seeks to support local community projects run by non-government organisations, with a short-to-medium term timeframe. Last year, 11 projects were selected under this Scheme.
BE WARY OF FINANCIAL CRIME
Once again, we broach the subject of clients receiving messages from fraudsters impersonating a number of financial institutions and asking them to withdraw their funds as well as their accrued benefits and in return charged a commission or handling fee.
We took a moment to discuss this with Michael Coleman from Kingfisher Investments who are based here in Hong Kong and asked him if there is any advice, he could offer to combat this.
‘’Most importantly You MUST be vigilant and watch out for these tricksters as they can be quite convincing. What I tell my clients is there are 4 stages to be on guard:
Watch out for bogus calls and messages.
Keep your security software up to date. Do not disclose your account and personal information to any unknown third party.
For this reason, Kingfisher Investments do not direct their clients to third-party websites or mobile applications. Therefore, make sure you are connected to our official website when you access our services and information.
If the offer is too good to be true, it often is. Compare the offer in advance with other providers and look carefully at the conditions. You will usually find the conditions at the bottom of the website or via a link where you often have to check the box to continue.
