The Business Times
business-time-50

ESG investing: Asia more focused on real-world impact, while Europe is ticking boxes

Janice Lim

Janice Lim

Published Wed, Sep 21, 2022 · 04:14 PM
    • Ninety One is more active in debt capital markets, as John Green thinks that being a debt holder has more power to drive change than being an equity holder.
    • Ninety One is more active in debt capital markets, as John Green thinks that being a debt holder has more power to drive change than being an equity holder. PHOTO: AFP

    REGULATIONS in the European markets have driven sustainability investing to be a box-ticking exercise for many investors and investment managers, said John Green, chief commercial officer at Ninety One.

    In contrast, the conversations about investing with environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations in Asia are more about real-world impact, he added.

    Speaking to The Business Times on Tuesday (Sep 20), Green said that his experience at Ninety One, an investment management firm which started from South Africa, has given him an emerging market lens to sustainability investing.

    ESGsustainable financeEmerging markets

    TRENDING NOW

    Just under two-thirds of affected homes are expected to be in London, according to estimates by estate agent Hamptons, and the government has said that it will use a home’s size and nearby sale prices nearby to judge the value of a property. 

    Britain’s mansion tax shows the difficulty of targeting wealth

    Malaysian Chinese bag-maker Liew Bin now sees value in protectionist measures as low-cost competition from China threatens Malaysian small and medium-sized enterprises.

    Once staunchly pro-China, Malaysian Chinese businesses are now distancing themselves from Beijing

    Cisco’s Tay Bee Kheng says that her value-add as the tech giant’s Asean chief lies in identifying what each regional market needs specifically, and presenting that to her global bosses.

    The only common thing in S-E Asia is that we all eat rice: Cisco’s Asean president

    Artist’s impression of a planned DayOne data centre in Singapore. The company is part of a wave of firms in the sector eyeing IPOs as soon as 2026.

    Singapore data centre operator DayOne opts for US IPO at likely US$20 billion valuation

    Latest T-bills Treasury Bills Results & Interest NewsLatest SSB Singapore Savings Bonds NewsLatest COE Certificate of Entitlement News
    Latest Johor-Singapore SEZ NewsLatest BTO Build To Order & Sales of Balance NewsLatest STI Straits Times Index NewsLatest SGX Dividends, Share Price NewsLatest Bonds Market NewsLatest Singapore Stocks To Buy NewsLatest Singapore Economy News
    View More