Asean can lower cost of green transition by yuan debt: China’s green finance veteran

[SINGAPORE] One of the longstanding barriers to accelerating Asean’s energy transition is the high cost of financing, whether due to perceived investment risks, a lack of bankable green projects or macroeconomic factors.

Ma Jun, the former chief economist of the People’s Bank of China and a key architect of the country’s green finance ecosystem, is championing yuan-denominated debt as a relatively underutilised way to lower the cost of capital.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Business Times, he highlighted this as the key opportunity to enhance green collaboration between Asean and China.