SINGAPORE – A new body that incorporates expertise from across the economy will make it easier for companies and other entities to collaborate with the financial sector to drive sustainability initiatives.
The Singapore Sustainable Finance Association (SSFA) launched on Jan 24 is the first cross-sectoral industry body to support the development of Singapore as a leading global centre for sustainable finance.
It includes members from the financial services, non-financial sector corporates, academia, non-governmental organisations and other industry bodies.
The co-chairs for its first term are Ms Deborah Ho, BlackRock’s country head of Singapore and regional head of South-east Asia, and HSBC Singapore chief executive Wong Kee Joo.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) new managing director Chia Der Jiun told the launch ceremony that the association can lead the way in developing industry best practices in areas such as carbon credits trading and transition finance.
It can also bring together financial bodies and industry sectors to address barriers that hinder the compiling of financing needed for sustainability projects, he added.
For example, it can combine financing solutions from different asset classes, including risk mitigation tools, to help to make projects more bankable.
“This applies not only in climate mitigation, but also in financing less bankable projects related to climate adaptation and biodiversity preservation,” Mr Chia noted.
He added that the new body can also contribute to upskilling and capacity-building by guiding the relevance of sustainable finance courses, including training offered by institutes of higher learning and other providers.
It can also organise capacity-building workshops in areas not readily offered by training providers, such as carbon markets, taxonomy application and blended finance.
“Singapore has come a long way in sustainable finance in less than 10 years,” Mr Chia said. “Today, Singapore is one of the leading sustainable finance centres serving the net-zero transition needs in Asia and beyond.”
He noted that Singapore remains Asean’s largest market for green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds and loans. More than $30 billion worth of such financing originated here in 2022.
It also has a carbon services and trading ecosystem of over 100 companies, the highest concentration in the region.
“Singapore has stepped up in leading change and seeding solutions. We have shaped standards and guidance, and championed innovative financing approaches for green and transition finance projects, together with international partners,” Mr Chia said.
But Singapore can do more to contribute in the areas of standards, solutions and skills – that will require the financial sector and industry “to collaborate and leverage the deep expertise that resides in each domain. The SSFA will be a key platform to achieve this”.
Singapore has to adopt innovative financing approaches, so it can tackle projects that are only marginally bankable or considered to be currently unbankable, he added.
The country also needs to invest in the skills and capabilities of its people. Mr Chia noted that the MAS, the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF) and Workforce Singapore have embarked on a Jobs Transformation Map to study the impact of sustainability on the financial sector workforce.
“Preliminary findings suggest that most of the jobs must be augmented by upskilling to support changes in regulations, products and processes to better serve their clients. In addition, new and highly specialised roles, such as sustainability risk analysts, will be created,” he added.
Detailed findings and key initiatives by the MAS and IBF to support the sector’s upskilling will be announced in April.
