Overview
Hong Kong’s ESG regulatory policies are mainly formulated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong, and many polices are based on the Hong Kong Climate Action Plan 2050.
As an international financial center, Hong Kong launches a series of green financial instruments and releases the Green and Sustainable Finance Grant Scheme to provide subsidies to the market. The Hong Kong government also issues green bonds to institutional investors and individual investors to increase public participation.
Hong Kong is regulating ESG development, such as setting climate information disclosure standards based on ISSB guidelines and requiring mandatory disclosure by listed companies. Hong Kong is also planning to establish a green taxonomy to provide a standard framework for sustainable activities.P
Hong Kong Issues Institutional Green Bonds
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) stated that it has successfully issued institutional green bonds based on the government’s green bond program, with a total value of $6 billion
HKEX Strengthens Climate Disclosure Requirements for Listed Companies
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange has released a consultation document on climate disclosure for listed companies, and plans to change the requirement of “Comply or Explain” to mandatory disclosure in 2024, and promote it to all listed companies in 2026
Hong Kong Issues Tokenized Government Green Bonds
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) recently announced that Hong Kong’s first tokenized government green bonds were successfully issued. The green bond is based on the government’s green bond plan and is also the first officially issued tokenized green bond in the world
HKEX Releases Carbon Market Report
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange releases a carbon market report, which analyzes the current development of the global and Chinese carbon markets in detail, and proposes the opportunity for Hong Kong to participate in the process
Introduction to HK’s Green and Sustainable Finance Grant Scheme
Hong Kong launched the “Green and Sustainable Finance Grant Scheme (GSF)” to provide funds for issuers of green bonds and borrowers of green loans to promote the development of green and sustainable finance. This plan is integrated from the
Introduction to HK’s Climate Action Plan 2050
In 2017, Hong Kong released the “2030 Climate Action Blueprint”, promising to reduce carbon emissions to 65% to 75% of 2005 by 2030. In 2020, carbon emissions have been reduced to 80%.
Hong Kong’s carbon emissions have reached a peak in 2014. According to
Introduction to Hong Kong Green Bond Program
In 2018, Hong Kong launched the government green bond program for the first time, with an initial borrowing ceiling of HK $100 billion (about $12.8 billion). This borrowing limit was increased to HK $200 billion ($25.6 billion) in 2021. The funds raised by green bonds are mainly
Hong Kong FSDC Releases ESG Brief Report
Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) recently released a brief report on ESG, summarizing the development of ESG in Hong Kong and proposing a roadmap for follow-up actions. The report is divided into three parts, namely, the introduction of the