Sustainable bonds in Asia: Look beyond the label

APPETITE for sustainable assets is growing fast. Institutions and individual investors want to know that their money is being put to productive use.

Regulators are imposing stricter environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements on companies, driving a unification of standards and guidelines across markets.

This has led to a sharp rise in sustainable investing. Bond markets – the single largest source of financing in global public capital markets – offer a fundamental investment channel.