ESG in Fixed Income Asia 2022, featuring Green, Social, Sustainability and Sustainability-linked Bonds

Chair’s Opening Remarks

Ahren Lester, Assistant Editor, Environmental Finance

Opening Keynote Welcome

Pol de Win, Head of Global Sales & Origination, SGX Group

Panel: Taxonomies and standards – ensuring collaboration to encourage maximum investment and issuance. Are similar approaches likely to follow in Asia?

• How are different markets developing their own standards and how do these compare?
• How are investors and issuers thinking about them: are they resolving questions or creating confusion?
• In what ways are green bond standards converging on a global scale?
• Are the EU taxonomies having a positive market impact or do concerns remain?

Moderator:
Genevieve Redgrave, Staff Writer, Environmental Finance

Panellists:
Antoine Rose, Head of Sustainable Banking APAC, Credit Agricole
Eugene Wong, CEO, Sustainable Finance Institute Asia, (SFIA)
Miranda Carr, Global Head of Applied ESG & Climate Research, MSCI
Satoshi Ikeda, Chief Sustainable Finance Officer, FSA Japan (joining virtually)

Panel: Sovereign green bond issuance in Asia

• What are the key experiences and takeaways from Singapore's first sovereign green bond issuance?
• What are other efforts taken by MAS to develop Singapore's green bond market?
• Do the SDGs affect sovereign green bond spreads?

Moderator:
Puja Shah, Head of ESG Financing, Asia ex. Japan, J.P. Morgan

Panellists:
Tze Khai Poh, Deputy Director, Financial Products and Solutions Division, Financial Markets Development Department, Monetary Authority of Singapore
Thu Ha Chow, Head of Fixed Income Asia, Robeco
Nishad Majmudar, Assistant Vice President, Analyst, Moody's Sovereign Risk Group

Panel: Are sustainability-linked instruments raising or lowering the bar for ESG issuance?

• What are the advantages and constraints of Sustainability Linked Loans?
• What are investors looking for in transparency: what are the challenges and how are targets set?
• What does best practice look like?

Moderator:
Ahren Lester, Assistant Editor, Environmental Finance

Panellists:
Diana McFarlane, CFO, DCI Data Centers – joining virtually
Olivier Menard, Head of the Green & Sustainable Hub, Asia Pacific, Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking
Nick Gandolfo, Director of Sustainable Finance Solutions, Asia Pacific, Morningstar Sustainalytics

Panel: The role of natural capital and environmental markets in decarbonising the economy

• How can natural capital projects help economies and communities in Asia meet their national determined contributions?
• What is the role the private sector can play in developing natural capital projects?
• What financial opportunities and product development do you see?
• What is the outlook for environmental markets in 2023, can it evolve with the current regulatory environment?

Moderator:
Stella Saris Chow, Head of Sustainable Finance, International, ANZ

Panellists:
Martin Lemoine, Unit Head, Agribusiness Investment Team, Private Sector Operations Department, Asian Development Bank
Anna Stablum, Sales and Origination, Climate Impact X

Panel: Corporates' transition on the journey to net zero

• How do Asian issuers demonstrate their ESG strategy?
• Considering company assets at risk and mitigation strategies over the long term
• New technologies? New business models?
• Are the bond markets a way for corporates to action and finance their transition strategies?
• Preparing for climate disclosure in Asia
• What resources (e.g., people, processes, technologies) would the company need to meet the proposed reporting deadlines?
• How does the company evaluate the materiality of climate-related disclosures across regions?

Moderator:
Diana Parusheva-Lowery, Executive Director, Public Polciy & Sustainable Development, ASIFMA

Panellists:
Lisa Tao, Senior Credit Analyst, Invesco
Dr Calvin Lee Kwan, Director of Sustainability and Risk Governance, Link Asset Management; Green and Sustainable Real Estates Working Group Co-chair, HKGFA (joining virtually)
Melissa Moi, Head of Sustainable Business, Corporate Sustainability Office, UOB

Panel: ESG data used in ESG investing

• How good is ESG data for the Asian fixed income market?
• What are investors doing to generate their own data?
• How to define the ESG score for sovereigns?
• What are the fundamental differences in applying ESG data in fixed income and equity index?
• What would be the bias in ESG data?
• Does ESG improve the portfolio returns

Moderator:
Genevieve Redgrave, Staff Writer, Environmental Finance

Panellists:
Rehan Ahmed, General Manager, Marketnode., Marketnode
Nelson Huang, Director, Fixed Income and Multi-Asset Product Management, APAC, FTSE Russell, An LSEG Business
Nicole Lim, Investment Analyst, ESG, Fixed Income, Abrdn

Panel: Bondholder engagement

• Setting clear paths to escalate engagement and measuring ESG outcomes
• How do GSS principles enable investors to engage with issuers?
• How can bond investors and use of proceeds stimulate discussions around the Paris agreement and the SDGs?
• What is holding bondholders back from being more proactive in this regard?
• How can issuers facilitate engagement?
• Does it drive motivation to issue?

Moderator:
Matthew Song, Head of Corporate and Institutional Clients, SGX Group

Panellists:
Donald Chan, Managing Director, APAC, CDP
Chee Wee Tan, Senior Environmental and Social Specialist, AIIB (joining virtually)
Joanne Khew, ESG Specialist, Eastspring Investments

Panel: The continued rise of sustainable finance in Asia

• What factors will drive the increase of sustainable bond issuance for the future?
• How important are transition bonds in the future of sustainable finance in Asia?
• Is the "S" in ESG ready for a breakout year in 2023 for Sustainability-Linked Loans?
• Is the range of social factors within ESG expanding and how will this effect sustainability strategies for issuers and investors in Asia?
• How will this effect reporting, regulation, rating, and risk?
• How are investors and other market participants assessing ESG and sustainability risks and opportunities?
• Greenwashing – what do investors want to see?

Moderator:
Amy West, Global Head of ESG Solutions, TD Securities LLC

Panellists:
Nelson Huang, Director, Fixed Income and Multi-Asset Product Management, APAC, FTSE Russell, An LSEG Business
Marcin Bill, Head of Funding, APAC, IFC
Anthony Ruschpler, Senior Treasury Specialist, ADB

Closing remarks and close of conference