11/11/19

SINGAPORE: New $2bn Green Finance Programme.

As published on internationalinvestment.net, Monday November 11, 2019.

Singapore is launching a £2bn green finance investment programme to boost the Lion City's goal of becoming a global sustainable finance hub.

The green investment program (GIP), along with other incentives to encourage green lending, will promote environmentally sustainable projects and mitigating climate change risks in the country and the region.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will channel funds to public market investment strategies with a strong green focus. The regulator "will place funds with asset managers who are committed to drive regional green efforts out of Singapore and contribute to MAS' other green finance initiatives including developing green markets and managing environmental risks," said education minister and MAS board member Ong Ye Kung at the Singapore FinTech Festival x the Singapore Week of Innovation and TeCHnology (SWITCH) conference.

"By our actions alone, we cannot change the world. But through our actions, we hope we can inspire it, we can catalyse change"

As part of the programme, the regulator will allocate $100m to the Bank for International Settlements' Green Bond Fund in support of its global green finance initiatives.

"Singapore accounts for only 0.11% of carbon emissions in the world. By our actions alone, we cannot change the world. But through our actions, we hope we can inspire it, we can catalyse change," Ye Kung added.

To reinforce industry efforts and build financial system resilience, MAS will also look to issue environmental risk management guidelines across banking, insurance and asset management sectors.

"As a leading international financial centre, Singapore will do the right thing to help reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainable development in Asia and globally," he said.

In order to access green loans, firms will need to incur costs to develop sustainability frameworks and engage external reviewers. MAS will roll out grant schemes to help defray these costs.