SINGAPORE – The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and its Chinese counterpart, the People’s Bank of China, will deepen cooperation in green and transition financing between the two countries.
This will be spearheaded by a newly formed Green Finance Taskforce (GFTF), which will also encourage greater collaboration between the public and private sectors as Asia transitions to a low carbon future.
At its inaugural meeting in Chongqing on Friday, the task force discussed initiatives that will boost green and transition financing flows among Singapore, China and the broader region.
For now, priority will be in three areas – establishing definitions and taxonomies, strengthening bond-market connectivity between Singapore and China, and exploiting technology that will pave the way for the adoption of sustainable financing.
GFTF co-chair Gillian Tan said the task force will deepen the opportunities for green and transition financing and also galvanise the tie-ups between both countries’ public and private players.
Ms Tan, who is also MAS’ assistant managing director, said this will result in “concrete initiatives that would catalyse capital flows to support a credible and inclusive transition to a low carbon future for our countries and the region”.
The development comes hot on the heels of the MAS’ refreshed Finance for Net Zero Action Plan that was unveiled by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on Thursday.
The updated initiative will widen the focus on green finance to also encompass transition financing, a form of financial support to help high-carbon companies become more environment-friendly through long-term initiatives.
