War threatens to undermine ESG-oriented investing

ON Mar 14, even as Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine was roiling markets around the world, the Singapore Exchange and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp unveiled a new index to help investors decarbonise their Singapore stock portfolios.

Dubbed the iEdge-OCBC Singapore Low Carbon Select 50 Capped Index, it excludes companies that are heavily involved in the fossil fuels sector and focuses on companies with low greenhouse gas emissions per unit of revenue.

The 50 stocks that comprise the index include local stalwarts such as DBS, UOB, OCBC and Singtel as well as Ascendas Reit, Wilmar International and Keppel Corp. Among the overseas-listed Singapore companies in the index are Flex and Sea. Their weightings within the index are capped to ensure diversification.