THERE is a growing appetite for sustainable investments across Asean, said UOB in a Dec 30 press statement.

Based on statistics from the Asean Consumer Sentiment Study 2021, 91 per cent of Asean consumers express a desire for financial institutions to provide more information about the benefits of sustainable investing, as well as offer more options in sustainable investment solutions.

The study noted that this was particularly prevalent in Indonesia (96 per cent), Singapore (91 per cent) and Malaysia (91 per cent). In Singapore, 13 per cent of respondents said they already buy sustainable investment products, while another 61 per cent are "considering and are interested" in sustainable investment products if these matched their preferred risk profiles.

Around 3,500 respondents from 5 Asean countries were interviewed for UOB's study, which is in its second edition and was completed in July 2021. This includes 1,000 respondents from Singapore and more than 600 each from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Jacquelyn Tan, head of group personal financial services at UOB, revealed that the number of customers who have invested in the bank's environmental, social and governance (ESG)-linked products has grown by 6 times since they were launched in late 2020. She expects demand to continue to grow, as more consumers seek to "do good and to contribute to sustainable development."

The study also found that younger generations of consumers in the region, particularly Gen Z youth and millennials, are responsible for driving increased awareness of sustainability.

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According to 51 per cent of Gen Z respondents surveyed, shaping a better future for current and future generations was a key motivation for them to spend more on sustainable products. This figure indicates an increase of more than 7 times from 2020, up from just 7 per cent.

The same sentiment was shared by 61 per cent of millennials in 2021, compared with 41 per cent in 2020. In Singapore, more Gen Z (up 23 percentage points to 26 per cent in 2021) and millennial (up 17 percentage points to 45 per cent in 2021) respondents also expressed their hopes for a sustainable future.

The study noted that respondents in Singapore have been making lifestyle changes to live more sustainably. Thirty-one per cent said they have been willing to pay more for sustainably-sourced goods and services, while 36 per cent have been replacing their current basket of goods and services with more sustainable alternatives.

Incentives have also been highly effective in motivating respondents in Singapore to go green, said UOB. Some 88 per cent of respondents expressed interest in rewards or rebates to support eco-friendly and environmentally-sustainable businesses. In particular, 81 per cent of respondents were keen on converting reward points earned on their credit cards to green credits for the adoption of renewable energy sources.

UOB's Tan added that the bank has seen greater interest in its green financial solutions, such as credit cards offering eco-friendly lifestyle and dining deals, and green car and home loans, from its millennial customers.

READ MORE:

• Singapore ahead of global average in survey on awareness of ESG issues

• As ESG awareness grows, experts weigh in on where to put your cash

• The future of sustainability: Learning from the past to transform the future