Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office (Toronto) (HKETO), Ms Emily Mo, spoke at the webinar on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) organised by the Association of Chinese Canadian Entrepreneurs Magnolia Club on March 8 to examine why ESG is crucial in business development and growth.
In delivering the opening remarks, Ms Mo is pleased to see the growing emphasis on sustainability, or more broadly on ESG in business culture in recent years, and share with participants on Hong Kong’s strong sustainability commitments and efforts.
Ms Mo pointed out that ESG investing continues to grow in Hong Kong and globally in recent years as wealth holders increasingly look to putting their assets where their values lie. “According to the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance report, worldwide ESG investments grew by 15% in 2019 and 2020,” Ms Mo said.
She added the Hong Kong stock market also seeks to be at the forefront of sustainable finance. “The Hong Kong Stock Exchange has introduced new rules to require issuers to provide a board statement setting out its consideration of ESG issues, and require listed companies to publish their ESG report annually,” Ms Mo said.
Besides, Ms Mo noted the issuance of bonds to raise money for climate-related or social projects, or linked to sustainability targets, is an increasingly popular option. “In Hong Kong, green bond issuance topped 2 billion Hong Kong dollars (or 0.3 billion Canadian dollars) in 2020. There were 15 internationally aligned green bonds and one green loan – the highest number of deals from Hong Kong issuers so far,” Ms Mo continued.
Before closing, Ms Mo encouraged participants to join the sharing sessions with two female leaders from Hong Kong and Canada, respectively Chair of the Hong Kong Institute of Qualified Environmental Professionals, Dr Jeanne Ng and Founder and CEO TROES Corp., Ms Vienna Zhou to gain insights of ESG prospects.
In addition to joining the virtual ACCE event, Ms Mo also attended two International Women's Day celebration events organised respectively by Immigrant Women in Business and the Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Toronto. Speaking at both events, she noted the female labour force participation rate and percentage of university students are about and over 50 per cent in Hong Kong, and she hoped to join hands with Canada to create a gender equal world and increase women's visibility.
香港經貿處處長在國際婦女節參與慶祝活動
香港駐多倫多經濟貿易辦事處（香港經貿處）處長巫菀菁於三月八日在創業協進會Magnolia Club舉辦的網上研討會上致辭。該研討會旨在探討「環境、社會和管治」(ESG)對企業的發展及業務增長所起的關鍵作用。
巫菀菁致開幕辭時表示，欣悉近年企業文化越來越重視可持續發展，並更廣泛地強調「環境、社會和管治」。巫菀菁同時向與會者分享香港在推動可持續發展方面的工作及努力。
巫菀菁指出，由於越來越多投資者將資產投放在價值觀相同的企業上，「環境、社會和管治」投資近年在香港及全球均持續發展。巫菀菁表示：「根據全球可持續投資聯盟的報告，「環境、社會和管治」投資在 2019 年和 2020 年增加15%。」
巫菀菁補充說，香港股票市場亦視可持續金融為重點。她說：「香港聯合交易所推出新指引，要求發行人提供董事會聲明，說明其對「環境、社會和管治」方面的考慮，並要求上市公司每年發布「環境、社會和管治」報告。」
此外，巫菀菁指出，為氣候相關或社會項目籌集資金而發行的債券，或與可持續發展目標掛鉤，已越來越受投資者的歡迎。巫菀菁續說：「香港在2020 年的綠色債券發行量達至20億港元（或3億加元），共有15種與國際接軌的綠色債券和一種綠色貸款，是目前香港發行最多的交易數量。」
最後，巫菀菁鼓勵與會者參加隨後的分享環節，與兩位來自香港和加拿大的女性領袖，分別是香港合資格環保專業人員學會主席吳芷茵博士及TROES Corp創始人兼首席行政總監Vienna Zhou交流，聽取她們對「環境、社會和管治」方面的遠見。
除了創業協進會舉辦的網上研討會外，巫菀菁亦參與兩個由商界移民女性及大多倫多中華文化中心舉辦的國際婦女節慶祝活動。巫菀菁在兩個活動上表示，香港的女性勞動人口參與率和大學生比例約為50%以上，她展望香港未來能與加拿大攜手創造性別平等的世界，提高女性的地位。
