Hong Kong should seize on transition-finance growth, financial secretary says

Hong Kong is well positioned as a global hub for green and sustainable finance to help emission-belching industries decarbonise as the world battles climate change, according to Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po.

Speaking on Monday at the eighth Hong Kong Green Finance Association Annual Forum, which marked the opening of Hong Kong Green Week, Chan said that “Hong Kong obviously has the potential to become a transition-finance hub”.

“While [transition finance] still represents a small fraction of the sustainable-finance market, it is gaining traction and offers considerable potential,” he said, referring to financing that companies use to help them shift from high-carbon to low-carbon operations.

China was expected to invest some US$820 billion in energy transition this year, accounting for nearly 40 per cent of the global total, while in the Asia-Pacific region, transition investments last year surpassed US$1 trillion for the first time – more than double the amount invested in the Americas, Chan said.

High-net-worth individuals had robust interest in transition investing, resulting in “great potential for developing innovative, climate-focused financial products that cater to market appetite”, Chan said.

In the first half of this year, sustainable debt issuance in Hong Kong exceeded US$34 billion, representing a 15 per cent year-on-year increase. More than 200 funds focused on environmental, social and governance issues have been authorised by the Securities and Futures Commission, an increase of 51 per cent over the past three years, and assets under management rose 18 per cent during the same period to more than HK$1.1 trillion (US$141 billion).

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