Net Zero & Nature Positive Theatre (Keynote)
Rethinking the Role of Sustainable Finance in Hong Kong
Day 2 : 15:30 – 16:20
Hong Kong’s push to develop as a hub for sustainable finance comes in the midst of increased scrutiny on the effectiveness of green bonds to support projects that have the biggest impact in lowering emissions, as well as the effectiveness of listing requirements and pressures from sustainable investing frameworks to guide corporations to act more sustainably.
By answering these questions, this panel hopes to deepen the understanding of Hong Kong’s role as a sustainable financier, ensuring impact from the government’s current push and enhancing Hong Kong’s future outlook.
Learnings
- Since the launch of the Centre for Green Finance in 2019, Hong Kong has made rapid strides towards its goal of becoming a global hub for sustainable finance. However, the data on the global outlook of green financing reveals that in comparison to its other premier financial offerings, green financing in Hong Kong is still in its nascent stages. Hong Kong issued green bonds, in the amount of USD 16 billion over the past 3 years – a long shot from the USD 68 billion in bonds issued by China in just one year.
- To continue Hong Kong’s push to be a sustainable finance hub, this panel aims to revisit Hong Kong’s initial pitch for becoming a sustainable finance hub and track the progress it has made since 2019.
- Beyond channeling investment to new renewable energy, green transport, and green building projects, have green bonds been leveraged effectively to improve the environmental performance of existing buildings and infrastructure?
- Looking beyond the Greater Bay Area, how can Hong Kong service the needs of its neighbours, especially as ASEAN countries remain some of those most in need of sustainable development and exposed to the dangers of climate change?
Post-Event Actions
- Understand that harnessing the financial potential of sustainable development will require the collective ambition and innovation of businesses, financial institutions and policymakers.
- Gain insights on the opportunities and barriers for the city to advance its green and sustainable finance ambitions and ensure long-term progress and impact beyond Hong Kong and the GBA.
Speakers
Moderator
Eric Stryson
Managing Director
Eric Stryson
Managing Director
Eric leads GIFT’s sustainability advisory business, manages private and public sector clients, and facilitates GIFT’s leadership development programmes. He has worked with thousands of executives from all regions in areas of governance, business, and sustainability. He writes and speaks on topics related to societal resilience, technology, and the shifting role of business in society.
My Sustainability Goals for 2023:
Enabling a broad recognition of the need to redesign society in the face of existential threats. Supporting business leaders and their teams to rethink their approach to business models, core products and services to align with greater societal resilience and overall improved quality of life.
Loretta Fong
Sustainability Deputy Leader
Loretta Fong
Sustainability Deputy Leader
Loretta is the Sustainability Deputy Leader in Mainland China and Hong Kong. The Sustainability team consists of multinational professionals leveraging on business know-how to drive transformative and innovative solutions for our clients. She has been practising as an assurance partner in Hong Kong for over 15 years, and has extensive experience in providing accounting, audit and transaction advisory services to private and publicly listed entities in Hong Kong and the United States.
Loretta holds office of the President of the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA). She is a member of the Green Technology and Finance Development Committee chaired by the Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong SAR, and a member of the Advisory Board of Hong Kong Management Association’s Global Centre for ESG Education and Research.
Her strong international background and knowledge gained has assisted her in fulfilling her duties and responsibilities as a council member and the treasurer of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (2019 -2025), a board member of the Ocean Park Corporation (2016 – 2022) and a council member of the General Committee of the Federation of the Hong Kong Industries (2019 – 2025), as appointed by the Government.
Loretta holds a number of professional designations including CPA (practicing) Hong Kong (HKICPA), Certified Public Accountant in the United States (CPA (US)), Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA Canada), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), and CICPA (non-practicing) China.
Brian Lam
Chief Sustainability Officer & Chief Financial Officer – Hong Kong
Brian Lam
Chief Sustainability Officer & Chief Financial Officer – Hong Kong
Brian Lam is Chief Sustainability Officer and Chief Financial Officer at UOB Hong Kong. In his role, Lam spearheads finance functions and supports to achieve the Bank’s sustainability objectives with a focus on helping businesses advance responsibly as well as fostering social inclusiveness and environmental well-being. Lam has more than 20 years of experience in the banking industry and audit field. Lam holds a Bachelor of Accountancy from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
My Sustainability Goals for 2023:
My sustainability goals are to promote climate action, drive sustainable operations, engage stakeholders, integrate ESG principles and foster financial innovation towards a sustainable future.
Georgina Lok
Head (Market Development)
Georgina Lok
Head (Market Development)
Georgina Lok is the Head (Market Development) of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), responsible for formulating and implementing various initiatives to promote the development of Hong Kong’s financial sector. Since joining the HKMA, Georgina has taken up responsibilities in different areas, including corporate development as well as international and regional cooperation. From 2017-2020, she was seconded to the International Monetary Fund, where she served as an Advisor to the Executive Director for China.
Dr Agnes K Y Tai
Chief EC.ESG Investment Strategist
Dr Agnes K Y Tai
Chief EC.ESG Investment Strategist
Agnes is Chief EC.ESG Investment Strategist at BlueOnion and a Director of her family office, Great Glory Investment Corporation. She has held senior roles in the financial community across four jurisdictions in the past 43 years, including being Co-Founding Director of Peregrine Asset Management (HK) in 1991, and is a former SFC-licensed Responsible Officer in RA 4 and RA 9. Her board training in sustainability, governance, strategy, and risk oversight currently spans five continents.
She holds a Climate Designation certificate from Competent Boards, a Sustainability and Climate Risk certificate and a Financial Risk Manager certificate from Global Association of Risk Professionals, an ESG Investing certificate from CFA UK, and a CAIA certificate from Chartered Alternative Investment Association, and a Palladium Kaplan-Norton Balanced Scorecard Certificate.
She is Governing Board member of Climate Governance Initiative working closely with World Economic Forum, Steering Committee member of Climate Governance Initiative Hong Kong Chapter, an Expert Review Panel member for the MTR Corporation sustainability reports, an Advisory Board member of Asia Climate Forum, an ESG judge for the Benchmark Funds of the Year Awards, a Council member, Publishing Board of Magazine member and a Deputy Chair of the training committee of the Hong Kong Institute of Directors (HKIoD), faculty of Competent Boards, CSIA and FITC, board member of Hope of the City, advisory council/committee member of GARP (HK), FarmacyHK and Shao Ming Lo Foundation.
She has a PhD from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology with dissertation titled “Do carbon risks matter for Hong Kong equity prices?”, an MBA from the University of Chicago – Booth School of Business, a BSc (Honors) from Roosevelt University in USA and is a graduate of the Stanford University Senior Executive Leadership Program and the 2011 Stanford Directors’ College. She has authored a book on investing in H-shares, a Harvard Business case and a positive psychology book ‘Tall Miracles’.
Supported by
Global Institute for Tomorrow
GIFT is an independent pan-Asian think tank dedicated to advancing a deeper understanding of today’s most critical drivers of change – from the emergence of a post-Western world to the reshaping of global capitalism and the dynamic relationship between business, society, and the state. Our practical insights, internationally acclaimed leadership learning curriculum, and outcome-driven facilitation help our clients navigate the seismic shifts shaping our future, particularly in key areas of sustainable development, social and environmental impact, sustainability, and policymaking.
Our sustainability goals for 2023:
Committed to solving growing existential threats and societal challenges, we aim to:
Move ESG beyond reporting, and reframe narratives to enable real and sustained transformation in ESG by working with clients to distil ESG in every aspect of business, from products and services to employees and the supply chain.
Support companies in rethinking their core business models to embrace the true ethos of “sustainability”, elevating sustainability conversations beyond environmental management & short-term business goals and towards long-term societal sustainability.
Scale up the accessibility of sustainability education and facilitate disruptive learning that empowers individuals and organisations with insights to redesign society through our new EdTech platform, GIFT.ed.
Our initiative in accelerating sustainable development in Hong Kong:
GIFT’s annual Hong Kong Young Leaders Programme (HKYLP) is a public consultation platform that convenes young professionals from the Business, Government and Civil society sectors to address Hong Kong’s pertinent complex societal challenges. Through the programme, participants meet with stakeholders and experts to gain cross-sector insights to develop innovative policy solutions for the betterment of Hong Kong. Since its inaugural programme in 2015, we have developed many policy recommendations and best practices for sustainable development, such as our 2022 programme on the Northern Metropolis Development Strategy, where participants were able to develop policy recommendations to enable the Northern Metropolis to become a liveable and resilient city while meeting Hong Kong’s long term policy objectives such as its 2050 decarbonisation goals.
For our upcoming 2023 HKYLP programme, we will be examining how promoting well-being may be key to reversing brain drain in Hong Kong. Driven by events in recent years, Hong Kong people have become increasingly dissatisfied by their inability to find fulfilment, security and empowerment in Hong Kong, all of which are key indicators for well-being. As such, key groups, particularly youth, have decided to relocate to competitor cities in search of better career prospects and outlooks for their children’s future – leading to the aforementioned brain drain. The HKYLP engages participants to define well-being in Hong Kong’s context and develop a Well-being Strategy that engages actors across public, private, and civil society sectors to create a conducive environment for youth to thrive in Hong Kong. Importantly, the cohort will be invited to engage with the concept of ‘well-being’ beyond ‘mental health’. Instead, the cohort will analyse well-being on a ‘what matters most’ approach, primarily understood as the notion of one’s life satisfaction, happiness, and the ability for one to ‘function well’.
With thanks to
PwC
Programme Sponsor for Hong Kong and Beyond: A Shared Vision for Our Planet
Day 1 of the Net Zero & Nature Positive Theatre (Keynote)
At PwC, our purpose is to build trust in society and solve important problems. We’re a network of firms in 155 countries with over 327,000 people who are committed to delivering quality in assurance, advisory and tax services. PwC Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR work together on a collaborative basis, subject to local applicable laws. Collectively, we have over 800 partners and more than 20,000 people in total. We provide organisations with the professional service they need, wherever they may be located. Our highly qualified, experienced professionals listen to different points of view to help organisations solve their business issues and identify and maximise the opportunities they seek. Our industry specialisation allows us to help co-create solutions with our clients for their sector of interest.
PwC Mainland China and Hong Kong firm includes 600+ of Sustainability practitioners, leveraging on our business know-how to drive transformative and innovative solutions for our clients. We help organisations to stay competitive, drive innovation and create win-wins for businesses, the environment and society. We provide end-to-end one-stop sustainability solutions through comprehensive service platform which is designed to help organisations respond to the increasing demand for transparency and accountability on sustainability issues from stakeholders, including investors, clients, employees, and regulators.
We lead by example, setting our own target to reach net zero emissions by 2030.
Find out more and tell us what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com. PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.
UOB
UOB is committed to doing right by our customers and stakeholders. As a responsible financial steward, we recognise our role in supporting the region’s transition to a net zero economy and directing the resources needed to the relevant parties on this journey. The Bank pledges to work closely with policymakers, peers and clients to reach our common goal. Together we forge a sustainable future for the people and businesses within, and connecting with, ASEAN today.
Our sustainability goals for 2023:
At UOB, our approach to sustainability is rooted in corporate values and embedded in the business model. We are committed to reaching net zero across the Group by 2050 with an orderly and just transition that continues to support economic growth and improve energy access across the region’s diverse economies.
Drive Growth Sustainably
- UOB drives growth sustainably by incorporating sustainability risk elements in its approach to risk management. This includes integrating ESG considerations into its credit evaluation and approval processes. The Bank also progressively adopts as well as promotes climate-resilient practices which support clients in their own transition to a lower-carbon economy. Beyond financing, UOB continues to make significant strides in growing its sustainable investing portfolio.
Keep Customers at the Centre
- As UOB focuses on doing what is right for customers, it ensures that Fair Dealing principles are entrenched in all aspects of its relationship with them. UOB aims to make banking more accessible and inclusive to individuals and businesses in the communities in which it operates. Standing by its customers also means that the Bank protects the data and privacy by maintaining the security and robustness of its systems and processes.
Develop Professionals of Principle
- UOB embraces diverse strengths and abilities as these enhance the Bank’s capabilities and enrich its competitiveness. UOB equips its colleagues to take on the challenges of tomorrow even as it cares for their welfare and work-life harmony today. UOB also fosters a sense of belonging among colleagues by encouraging volunteerism and improving engagement and satisfaction.
Uphold Corporate Responsibility
- UOB believes that as a responsible financial services provider, it must uphold corporate responsibility by maintaining the highest standards of governance and risk culture, ensuring regulatory compliance and protecting the financial system. It remains steadfast in its commitment to promote social development in the areas of art, children and education. Both in its own operations as well as among its stakeholders, UOB actively encourages and supports environmental stewardship efforts.
UN SDG goals that we align with:
- SDG 1 No Poverty
- SDG 2 Zero Hunger
- SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
- SDG 4 Quality Education
- SDG 5 Gender Equality
- SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation
- SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy
- SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
- SDG 9 Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
- SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities
- SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
- SDG 12 Responsible Consumption and Production
- SDG 13 Climate Action
- SDG 14 Life below Water
- SDG 15 Life on Land
- SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
- SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals
Legal Name: United Overseas Bank Limited
General Enquiry Form: https://forms.uob.com.sg/appforms/hk/contact-us.page
General Enquiry Phone Number: 29108888