{"id":30409,"date":"2024-10-09T13:39:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-09T13:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prnasia.com\/story\/archive\/4526976_AE26976_0"},"modified":"2024-10-09T13:39:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-09T13:39:00","slug":"2024-hkgfa-annual-forum-financing-asias-net-zero-transition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/transmediavictoria.net.au\/?p=30409","title":{"rendered":"2024 HKGFA Annual Forum – Financing Asia’s Net Zero Transition"},"content":{"rendered":"

HONG KONG<\/span><\/span>, Oct. 9, 2024<\/span><\/span> \/PRNewswire\/ — Hong Kong Green Finance Association (“HKGFA”) hosted its Seventh Annual Forum in Hong Kong<\/span> today, with the theme “Financing Asia’s Net Zero Transition.” Over 1,500 participants from Hong Kong<\/span>, mainland China, Asia, and beyond attended the forum in person and virtual<\/span>. The 2024 HKGFA Annual Forum brought together policy makers, regulators, multi-lateral development banks, and private sector players to deepen the dialogue on regional collaboration, innovation and solutions in the sustainable finance field.<\/p>\n

Across the day’s panel discussions and fireside chats, industry experts evaluated the region’s progress to net zero, development of transition taxonomies, and practical considerations for implementing transition plans. Also covered were themes such as carbon accounting, the integration of nature and biodiversity, and the need for emerging green technologies and innovative financing solutions to support the transition.<\/p>\n

Officiating at the forum were senior government officials from Hong Kong<\/span> and mainland China<\/span> including, the Honorable Mr. Paul Chan Mo<\/span>-po, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong SAR Government, Mr. Tan Yabo<\/span>, Deputy Director-General, Economic Affairs Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the HKSAR, <\/i>Ms. Zhang Bei<\/span>, Deputy Director-General of the Research Bureau of the People’s Bank of China<\/span> (“PBOC”), and Mr. Christopher Hui<\/span>, GBS, JP, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Hong Kong SAR Government, who opened the afternoon session with a message on Hong Kong’s<\/span> investments in the development of the green ecosystem.<\/p>\n

Financial Secretary Mr. Paul Chan<\/span> commenced the forum’s proceedings with opening remarks, in which he highlighted Hong Kong’s<\/span> role as a leading global hub for GreenTech and GreenFi and presented the Government’s strategy for turning this vision into reality.<\/p>\n

Mr. Chan<\/b> said, “Globally, as countries and regions set targets to achieve carbon neutrality, green investments have been rising. Meanwhile, transition finance is also gaining importance.  Hong Kong<\/span> can be Asia’s<\/span> leading transition finance hub.  We have a strong foundation \u2013 including a robust regulatory framework, the necessary financial infrastructure, a well-developed finance market, and the expertise on standard-setting and compliance. What we need now is to raise the awareness of the necessity of transition finance, and the potential it offers.”<\/p>\n

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Financial Secretary Mr. Paul Chan Delivering the Opening Remarks at 2024 HKGFA Annual Forum<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Adding to Mr. Chan’s comments, Dr. Ma Jun<\/span>, Chairman and President of HKGFA<\/b>, said, “Looking at the medium and longer-term, there are only two mega trends that will reshape our financial industry, one is sustainable finance, and the other is digitisation. And we can combine both in green and sustainable finance. HKGFA stands ready to build stronger partnership between the private sector and the public sector, to drive product innovation, to enhance capacity for the industry, and to facilitate transactions”.<\/p>\n

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Dr. Ma Jun, Chairman and President of the HKGFA Delivering Welcome Remarks at 2024 HKGFA Annual Forum<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Keynote speeches were also delivered by Mr. Emmanuel Faber<\/span>, Chair of International Sustainability Standards Board and Ms. Mary L. Schapiro, Vice Chair of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ).<\/p>\n

Mr. Faber<\/b> said: “Even before we finalised our Standards, Hong Kong<\/span> had started a consultation process about adopting the Standards. And I would like to really commend the regulators and market authorities in Hong Kong<\/span> for the incredibly rich and open dialogue that we have been able to have in Hong Kong<\/span> in order to listen from Hong Kong<\/span> early experience, but also to ensure that together Hong Kong<\/span> was as close as possible aligned with the global baseline works that we were building, as they were building their own thinking.<\/i>“.<\/p>\n

Ms. Schapiro<\/b> said: “The GFANZ Hong Kong Chapter will collaborate with local financial institutions, policymakers, and the HKGFA to support the dialogue and capacity needed to scale transition finance, bringing GFANZ’s work to the region and tailoring it to Hong Kong’s<\/span> context. With increasing interest in transition planning from policymakers around the world\u2014including authorities in Hong Kong<\/span>, the United States<\/span>, and the United Kingdom<\/span>, who have all directly cross-referenced GFANZ’s work\u2014Hong Kong has the opportunity to demonstrate how these efforts will create more jobs, build resilient cities, and drive sustainable growth.”.<\/p>\n

In the morning fireside chat, Mr. Kenneth Hui<\/span>, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (“HKMA”), Mr. Albert Park<\/span>, Chief Economist of Asian Development Bank, and Ms. Sally Chen<\/span>, Resident Representative in Hong Kong SAR (designate) of the International Monetary Fund (“IMF”), discussed key policies, regional collaboration, and capacity efforts to mitigate economic headwinds and achieve the Paris Agreement. It was followed by the afternoon fireside chat that discussed the public-private partnerships, financing and green technology innovation to support Asia’s<\/span> net zero future.<\/p>\n

On the four panel discussions, HKGFA’s members and leading industry experts shared the following insights and practical considerations:  <\/p>\n