Kenneth Lim

Kenneth Lim

FREELANCER

Kenneth Lim is a deputy news editor at BT who oversees coverage of environmental, social and governance issues. Over his career, he has covered Singapore public capital markets and regulations, South-east Asian private capital markets and US debt markets, as well as non-journalism work related to sustainable finance.

The global value of trades in voluntary carbon markets fell 29 per cent to about US$0.5 billion in 2024.
ESG INSIGHTS

Issue 169: Carbon credit insurance gets MAS boost; sustainable loans draw scrutiny

This week in ESG: Carbon market development grant to offset cost of insuring credits; recent ESG-labelled financing deals under spotlight

South-east Asia loses about US$2.41 per kilowatt hour of unserved energy on average, says Ember.
ESG INSIGHTS

Issue 168: S-E Asia’s attainable smart grid; new GRESB rankings show progress

This week in ESG: US$11 billion can deliver Asean smart grid, says think tank; average scores improve in real estate sustainability benchmark

The direct financial impact of the cancellation is not yet known, but analysts expect Seatrium to make provisions for potential reversal of recognised profits.
HOCK LOCK SIEW

Seatrium must manage its risks well as it tackles offshore headwinds

The company’s best defence is to broaden its non-oil and gas portfolio, in both geography and technology

Almost all of Seatrium’s non-oil and gas order book as at end-June 2025 is in offshore wind.
ESG INSIGHTS

Issue 167: Seatrium tosses in offshore turbulence; Singapore greenlights novel green jet fuel model

This week in ESG: Cancelled job rocks Seatrium offshore wind business; Singapore adopts fixed-cost envelope approach to adopt sustainable aviation fuel

Most major markets in Asia lack consistent climate adaptation plans, says a prominent climate-focused investor group.
ESG INSIGHTS

Issue 166: GIC mainstreams climate adaptation investing; Singapore to tackle reporting of cloud services emissions

This week in ESG: Asian investors focus on financing climate adaptation and resilience; Infocomm Media Development Authority to support companies on digital...

The Singapore yield curve is the steepest since the 50-year sovereign green bond was first launched in 2022.
ESG INSIGHTS

Issue 165: All eyes on Singapore’s green bond auction; a call for insurance consistency

This week in ESG: Singapore reopens S$1 billion of 50-year green bonds; insurance companies’ split personality on climate risk

Asia-Pacific may be drawing investors with the growth of green business in the region, according to MSCI.

Sustainable finance opportunities are heating up in South-east Asia

THE Asia-Pacific is growing as a climate finance hotspot as investors look for new frontiers of green growth amid a US pullback.

Global climate funds significantly shifted allocations to Europe and the Asia-Pacific in the first half of 2025, an MSCI analysis shows.
ESG INSIGHTS

Issue 164: Hong Kong eyes South-east Asia sustainable finance prize; Singapore buys first Article 6 carbon credits

This week in ESG: Report finds growing activity in green Asean; Singapore awards contracts to four nature-based projects

The amount of capital mobilised globally by blended funds rose to US$5.1 billion in 2024, based on Convergence data.
ESG INSIGHTS

Issue 163: Pentagreen-managed blended fund hits first close; small listcos, we have a problem

This week in ESG: Green Investments Partnership fund raises US$510 million; the need for climate reporting

Relatively consistent retirement volumes of carbon credits reflect a need for offsets, says Ecosystem Marketplace.
ESG INSIGHTS

Issue 162: Slowly reviving carbon markets; Singapore commissions nuclear study

This week in ESG: GenZero, others urge rebuilding demand for carbon credits; Mott MacDonald wins bid for nuclear feasibility assessment