Initiatives to advance cooperation in green and transition finance between Singapore and China were discussed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the People’s Bank of China (PBC) at the 2nd China-Singapore Green Finance Taskforce (GFTF) meeting held on 20 May 2024. The initiatives discussed covered the alignment of taxonomies, facilitation of green finance flows, and the development of a decarbonisation rating platform.
The GFTF was set up in 2023, with three work streams, led by private and public sector players which focus on initiatives to scale up green and transition financing flows between Singapore, China and the region.
It was decided in the 2nd GFTF meeting that MAS and PBC will complete the mapping of the Singapore Asia Taxonomy (SAT) to the International Platform on Sustainable Finance (IPSF)’s Common Ground Taxonomy (CGT) [1] by the end of this year. This will facilitate cross-border issuance by Singapore and Chinese corporates of CGT-aligned green financing bonds and loans originated by Singapore and Chinese financial institutions.
The Singapore Exchange and China International Capital Corporation are also collaborating on a Green Corridor to facilitate green financing flows between Singapore and China. Initially, it will focus on encouraging green panda bond issuances, given the demand from Singapore issuers to raise capital in the Chinese onshore bond market. MAS will provide support to encourage such financing flows through grant schemes such as the Sustainable Bond Grant Scheme.
The meeting also focused on Metaverse Green Exchange and Beijing Green Exchange developing a carbon accounting and decarbonisation rating platform. The platform will, amongst other things, aggregate Chinese corporates’ carbon emissions data to support Singapore and Chinese financial institutions in structuring green financing solutions for these corporates.
The meeting also discussed emerging areas of interests, including nature and biodiversity, ESG data model interoperability, and the use of artificial intelligence and data analytics through Greenprint (Gprnt) and Project NovA! to facilitate the collecting, accessing and harnessing of high-quality ESG data to drive green and transition efforts.
Gillian Tan, MAS’ Assistant Managing Director (Development and International) and Chief Sustainability Officer, who co-chairs the GFTF with Dr Ma Jun, Chair of the China Green Finance Committee, said at the meeting, “The GFTF is a key platform for China and Singapore to jointly develop concrete and meaningful initiatives to advance green finance cooperation. The wide range of deliverables announced today is testament to the strong collaboration between MAS, PBC and industry partners from both countries and our shared ambition to mobilise the financing required for an effective transition to net zero in the region.”
Read press release here https://www.mas.gov.sg/news/media-releases/2024/mas-and-peoples-bank-of-china-advance-collaboration-in-green-and-transition-finance