Barclays banks on renewable power in S-E Asia: sustainable finance head

SOLAR energy is expected to be the biggest growth driver of renewable energy capacity in South-east Asia in the next few years, followed by a Vietnam-dominated wind sector, said Daniel Hanna, Barclays’ global head of sustainable finance. There is also potential for further development of geothermal capacity in Indonesia, he added.

Barclays is one of the world’s most active bookrunners for environmental, social and governance (ESG) bond deals. In the Asia-Pacific and in South-east Asia, however, the UK-based banking group is a minor player. Data from Refinitiv showed that Barclays was a top 10 bookrunner for ESG bonds globally in the first half of 2023; in either South-east Asia or the Asia-Pacific, Barclays was not among the top 25.

Hanna said that Barclays has been selective in its approach in this region. Instead of competing across the board, the bank is focused on financing the energy transition of the region’s power sector. Hanna was confident that if only deals in the renewable power sector could be isolated from the data – which could not be done with the Refinitiv numbers – Barclays would be among the top handful.