Dubbed «STAGE,» the portal aims to promote the visibility, transparency, and accessibility of sustainable and green financial products.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) will launch a sustainable and green exchange later this year, which will act as a central hub for data and information on sustainable and green finance investments in the region, the bourse announced on Thursday.
In its initial phase, STAGE will function as a repository of sustainability, green and social bonds and ESG-related exchange-traded products, and will serve as an education and advocacy platform, promoting knowledge sharing and stakeholder engagement in sustainable finance, the announcement said.
«Our goal is to help issuers raise awareness of their sustainable and green financial products, whilst also offering investors and asset managers easy access to information for their due diligence, selection and monitoring,» HKEX head of green and sustainable finance Grace Hui said.
Green Growth
Sustainable and green investment funding has picked up in the Asia-Pacific region in recent years. Green bond issuances in the region hit record levels in 2019, reaching $18.89 billion, with Mainland China’s green bond market alone accounting for $8.13 billion, the announcement said, noting that Hong Kong played an important part in this development.
As of end-2019, the amount of green bonds arranged and issued in Hong Kong reach $26 billion, HKEX said.
