|
Hong Kong, 6 November: Hong Kong needs to shift from financial to institutional intermediation to continue serving as a sustainable finance gateway for Asia and the world, aligning rules, taxonomies and investment expectations amid an uncertain macroeconomic climate, regional leaders said at the flagship Unlocking capital for sustainability summit in Hong Kong yesterday. Despite countries contending with slowing economic growth and rising trade barriers, causing several to delay their climate pledges, Hong Kong continued to lead on sustainable finance, accounting for US$37.7 billion or 40 per cent of Asia’s international green and sustainable bond issuances in 2025. This makes Hong Kong Asia’s largest arranging hub for international green and sustainable bond issuances, but its potential as a gateway lies in its ability to connect wider systems – from technology to international capital. As an international financial centre and the primary gateway to the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong acts as a “super connector” and “super value-adder”, bringing together capital, enterprises, standards, innovation and talent, Diane Wong, Under Secretary for Environment and Ecology, said in her opening address. She called on business and industry leaders to leverage Hong Kong’s financial bridge for international green co-operation and to support the use of low-carbon technologies and green innovation. By channelling strategic capital into sustainable solutions, she said this will help build a robust green finance ecosystem to drive the region’s green transformation forward. Ambassador Harvey Rouse, Head of Office for the European Union (EU) to Hong Kong and Macao, said the EU will continue to partner with Asia on this, promoting open and rules-based trade to deliver shared value and accelerate the green transition. “Trade and sustainability are mutually reinforcing drivers of competitiveness, innovation and economic growth. By working together, we can build more sustainable supply chains, mobilise green investment and drive decarbonisation across our economies. Hong Kong, as a leading international trade and financial hub, has an important role to play in this shared endeavour,” he said in his address. Catalysing global capital for the futureMeanwhile, Shouqing Zhu, Senior Policy Adviser for the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), said Hong Kong can connect entire systems – technology, manufacturing and capital markets – with the international finance, professional services and standards needed to scale them. “This is not simply financial intermediation. It is institutional intermediation. Different economies have different rules, taxonomies and investment expectations. Hong Kong can help translate between them, reduce transaction costs and build confidence. In a fragmented world, that function becomes more valuable,” he said in his address. Organised by Eco-Business in partnership with UNEP FI and key stakeholders, the 2026 edition of Unlocking capital for sustainability – Hong Kong convened over 120 delegates from government, finance and industry under the theme of “Catalysing global capital for the future”, discussing everything from scaling climate technologies to strengthening urban resilience and the role of private wealth and artificial intelligence (AI) in the transition. The summit also announced Eco-Business’s partnership with the Capacity-building Alliance of Sustainable Investment (CASI) to strengthen sustainable finance capability in Singapore and the wider Asean region. “The partnership marks an important step for CASI and Eco-Business in expanding sustainable finance outreach and capability building across the region, combining CASI’s expertise and networks in mainland China and Hong Kong with Eco-Business’s media reach, events and training capabilities to connect knowledge with practice in Singapore and wider Asean,” Junice Yeo, Managing Partner and Head of Greater China for Eco-Business, said. The summit further partnered with the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Cathay Pacific for dedicated dialogues on unlocking forest capital and driving a low-carbon economy respectively in Greater China and the region. Unlocking capital for sustainability was hosted in six markets across Asia in 2026. In addition to Hong Kong, the flagship forum was hosted in Jakarta in June, Kuala Lumpur in July, Manila in August and Singapore and Bangkok in September. Eco-Business is also partnering with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for the inaugural Unlocking AI for sustainability summit, bringing together leaders across government, finance, technology and civil society to confront the choices that will decide whether AI broadens opportunity across Asia – or intensifies challenges. To learn more, visit our website here. – Ends – Notes to Editors: For enquiries or photos, please contact: Mark Rao, Eco-Business |
About Eco-BusinessEstablished in 2009, Eco-Business is Asia Pacific’s leading business intelligence and advisory platform dedicated to advancing sustainable development. We produce trusted, high-quality multimedia content exploring the world’s most pressing challenges—and the solutions driving change. Our work is aligned with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and supported by a 15-year archive of news, analysis, research, and events on sustainable development topics. Headquartered in Singapore, we have a presence in Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Beijing, and London. For more information, visit www.eco-business.com UN Environment Programme Finance InitiativeUNEP Finance Initiative brings together a large network of banks, insurers and investors that collectively catalyses action across the financial system to deliver more sustainable global economies. For more than 30 years, the initiative has been connecting the UN with financial institutions from around the world to shape the sustainable finance agenda. We’ve established the world’s foremost sustainability frameworks that help the finance industry address global environmental, social and governance (ESG) challenges. Convened by a Geneva, Switzerland-based secretariat, more than 500 banks and insurers with assets exceeding US$170 trillion work together to facilitate the implementation of UNEP FI’s Principles for Responsible Banking and Principles for Sustainable Insurance, as well as three UN-convened net-zero alliances. Financial institutions work with UNEP FI on a voluntary basis and we help them to apply the industry frameworks and develop practical guidance and tools to position their businesses for the transition to a sustainable and inclusive economy. Founded in 1992, UNEP FI was the first organisation to engage the finance sector on sustainability and incubated the Principles for Responsible Investment, now the world’s leading proponent of responsible investment. Today, we cultivate leadership and advance sustainable market practice while supporting the implementation of global programmes at a regional level across Africa & the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America & the Caribbean and North America. For more information, visit https://www.unepfi.org/ About Unlocking capital for sustainabilityUnlocking capital for sustainability is an annual flagship event organised by Eco-Business in partnership with UNEP FI that brings together high-level decision makers in finance, business, government and civic society to discuss and commit to actionable initiatives that mobilise the capital markets for sustainable development projects. Our full list of knowledge partners – past and present – can be found on our website: www.unlockingcapitalforsustainability.com |
Publish your content with EB Publishing
It's about who you reach. Get your news, events, jobs and thought leadership seen by those who matter to you.
