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- August 10, 2021
Standard Chartered , one of Hong Kong’s three note-issuing banks, planned to open a specialized branch this year for green banking services, according to South China Morning Post on August 9. According to the bank’s Hong Kong Chief Executive, the branch will be completely paperless and will offer financial services and products including deposits, loans, and bonds for sustainable initiatives. Moreover, beginning this year, the bank would offer green deposits that would only invest in emissions-cutting projects to retail investors.
In line with China’s 2060 carbon neutrality pledge and Hong Kong’s own 2050 carbon neutrality target, big banks in Hong Kong are taking more actions to develop green finance. For instance, HSBC and Bank of China Hong Kong (BOCHK) , two other note-issuing banks in Hong Kong, announced this April that they would expand their green finance businesses to support more than USD29tr worth of green projects in the coming decade. Apart from seeking sustainable investment projects, HSBC also pledged last year to achieve carbon neutrality for its internal operations by 2030 and for all its financed clients and projects by 2050.
In addition to the efforts of Hong Kong’s lenders, the Hong Kong government was also dedicated to reducing carbon emissions and developing the city as a green finance center in Asia. The government released its Green Bond Framework in 2019, aiming to develop a low carbon economy in the city. In February 2021, the government’s financial secretary Paul Chan announced a target of launching green bonds worth HKD175.5bn (USD23bn) in the next five years. As of this May, the government has issued USD3.5bn worth of green bonds, including USD1bn in 2019 and USD2.5bn this February.
Sources:
https://www.reuters.com/article/hsbc-hldg-climatechange-exclusive-int-idUSKBN26U0DP
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