THE Philippines is pushing for an initiative on the so-called green finance—the issuance of bonds and other investment that addresses the effects of climate change.
During the recent meeting of the Asean’s Capital Market Forum (ACMF) in Jakarta, Indonesia, the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), led by Commissioner Ephyro Luis B. Amatong, said the green-bond market is still new, but is growing at a rapid pace.
“The growing interest in green investments is an opportunity for Asean [Association of South East Asia Nations] companies to introduce themselves to international investors and help distinguish Asean as an asset class,” the SEC said.
During the meeting, the body acknowledged the progress of the review of the Asean Corporate Governance Scorecard and assessment methodology spearheaded by the Philippine SEC. The scorecard ranks publicly listed firms in the region on their ability to follow some of the generally accepted principles in corporate governance.
Philippine firms were ranked low in the scorecard.
“In addition, the meeting reiterated the importance of corporate governance as a key component of the ACMF’s efforts in promoting the investability of Asean publicly listed companies,” the SEC said.
“With the cooperation of other capital-market regulators in the region, which forms the ACMF, the SEC seeks to drive the Philippine capital market to rise to global standards. And in doing so, the SEC hopes to further improve the country’s investment opportunities for the global investors,” it said.
At that meeting, members of the ACMF agreed to intensify efforts to promote Asean asset classes.
“The MSCI’s initiative to develop dedicated Asean indexes to generate greater visibility for Asean asset classes as timely in supporting the ACMF’s agenda,” it said.
The body also agreed to introduce an annual Asean Capital Market Conference as a platform to discuss opportunities in Asean capital markets, and to showcase Asean asset classes.
To achieve these, the ACMF will work with its dialogue partners and key industry participants to launch the inaugural conference in the first half of 2017.