Policy Outlook

Key Sustainable Finance Regulations in Asian Countries (excluding China)

Asian markets play an increasingly central role in international finance. The Asian green/sustainable finance market is also growing steadily. Earlier this week, the Financial Times reported that Asia-Pacific issuance of green bonds hit a record high of USD 18.9 billion for a calendar year. In this context, regional financial market regulators are increasingly addressing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues through a variety of mechanisms.

Currently, Policy Outlook is monitoring regulatory developments in over 10 countries in Asia. When conducting an analysis of these initiatives, we have identified some distinct regulatory trends, for instance:

  • the development of national sustainable finance roadmaps which aim to guide a strategic, accelerated approach towards growing a sustainable financial system in countries such as MongoliaIndonesia, and Sri Lanka;
  • central banks adopting guidelines on environmental and social risk management for banks and financial institutions, such as in Nepal and Bangladesh;
  • the development of stewardship principles which aim to encourage responsible investment and foster good stewardship practices, such as those launched by Singapore and Japan; and
  • emphasis on corporate social responsibility (CSR), such as in India, where companies above specific thresholds are obliged to create a CSR Committee, or in Taiwan, where specific listed companies are obliged to annually publish a CSR report.

 

For a complete overview of initiatives monitored in the Asiatic region, check the Policy Outlook tool where you will find in-depth analyses of these frameworks. Please consider that this newsletter does not include developments related to China which are covered separately in the Policy Outlook tool.

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