The Singapore Exchange has partnered with the UK government to tap public markets to support sustainable environmental, social and economic development in Asia.
The partnership is via a UK government programme, Mobilising Institutional Capital Through Listed Product Structures (MOBILIST), which is under the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).
MOBILIST provides funding and technical support to new issuers of securities aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across so-called emerging and frontier markets.
The programme identifies and supports new, additional, scalable and commercially viable investment products with an eye to list on major exchanges, such as SGX.
No stranger to the sustainability agenda, SGX is of the view that public capital markets have a crucial role to play in mobilising private capital to support the SDGs.
The markets can do so by providing regulated, liquid access to new opportunities to the broadest range of investors.
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“Singapore Exchange Group exemplifies the strength and depth of Asian markets as a source of honest, reliable development and climate finance,” says Elizabeth Truss, UK’s secretary of state for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs.
“The UK government is committed to working with Singapore and the many high-quality firms in its thriving public market to support capital mobilisation,” she adds.
SGX CEO Loh Boon Chye believes that to achieve green and inclusive growth in Asia, the private and public sectors must work hand-in-hand to finance innovative solutions that support the SDGs.
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“Our partnership with MOBILIST is a step in this direction, and we are excited to connect MOBILIST with our ecosystem to identify and fund new sustainable investment opportunities,” says Loh.
“As Asia’s most international exchange and the leading venue for international and sustainable green bonds, SGX Group offers an ideal fundraising platform for companies to grow and scale. MOBILIST’s support will further mobilise capital from the deep and broad investor base in Asia who are increasingly seeking to invest responsibly with impact,” he adds
