SUSTAINABLE finance in South-east Asia looks set to be entering its next phase as major banks shift their stance slightly on how they plan to phase out coal financing.

HSBC, Standard Chartered and Bank of America are looking to be part of a deal that brings forward the closure of the Cirebon-1 coal-fired power plant, which would be Indonesia’s first early coal retirement deal if it goes through.

Singapore’s largest lender DBS also recently announced that it is currently working on such a deal after tweaking its coal financing policy to accommodate the early retirement of coal-fired power plants.