Insights

23 Sep Global Fossil Fuel Divestment against Climate Change [Part.2]: Impact

Posted at 10:14h in 2021-09-23, Deep Dive by Helena Zhu

Part 1 of this article introduced the origin and participants in the divestment movement. The decision to divest from fossil fuels may be driven by pressure from shareholders for environmental responsibility as well as considerations to dampen climate-related risks. With the pandemic starting in 2020, many...

22 Sep China Pledges to No Longer Build Coal Projects Overseas

Posted at 16:24h in 2021-09-23, Quick Hits by Helena Zhu

President Xi Jinping announced that China will no longer build new coal-fired power projects abroad at the opening meeting of the 76th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on September 21, as reported by The Strait Times on September 22. The president also repeated last year’s...

18 Sep Thailand’s Largest Floating Solar Plant Put into Operation in Ubon Ratchathani

Posted at 17:56h in 2021-09-23, Quick Hits by Una Qu

Chinese photovoltaic (PV) power developer Sungrow [300274:CH] said the 58.5-megawatt (MW) floating solar farm in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand, has been connected to the grid for operations, according to PV-Tech on September 17. This is Thailand’s largest hydro-floating PV plant at present, which is also combined...

17 Sep South Korean Banking Giants KB, Shinhan Invest KRW80bn in Swedish Wind Farm

Posted at 17:04h in 2021-09-23, Quick Hits by Una Qu

South Korea’s KB Financial Group [KB:US] and Shinhan Financial Group [SHG:US] jointly spent KRW80bn (USD68m) on a 45% stake of Sweden’s Gubbaberget Wind Farm through their Global Green Energy Partnership Fund, as reported by the Korea Economic Daily on September 17. Specifically, KB Kookmin Bank,...

16 Sep Australian CommBank Serves as Sole Financier for Charter Hall’s Green Building

Posted at 17:00h in 2021-09-16, Quick Hits by Tina Zhang

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) announced that it will issue a green bond of AUD202m to support the Charter Hall’s 480 Swan Street development in Richmond, Victoria, according to the CBA’s newsletter on September 14. Charter Hall plans to design the commercial office for...

16 Sep MSCI Releases Implied Temperature Rise Indicator for Climate Goal Alignment

Posted at 16:55h in 2021-09-16, Quick Hits by Haiyan Luo

MSCI has announced the launch of its Implied Temperature Rise solution for investors to track how companies align with global temperature targets, according to Sina Finance on September 15. The company-level dataset covers nearly 10,000 listed companies based on the MSCI ACWI Investable Market Index...

16 Sep Global Fossil Fuel Divestment against Climate Change [Part.1]: Participants

Posted at 15:42h in 2021-09-16, Deep Dive by Helena Zhu

The years of 2020 and 2021 saw a wave of financial institutions and funds announcing plans to divest from coal and other fossil fuel investments. From global asset managers to university endowments to pensions and sovereign wealth funds, financial institutions are taking a more serious...

16 Sep Singapore Advisory Committee Aims to Improve Gig Workers Welfare

Posted at 10:51h in 2021-09-16, Quick Hits by Una Qu

Singapore’s Advisory Committee on Platform Workers, announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in August, is in the early works to improve gig workers welfare, as reported by the Straits Times on September 15. Its three focuses are financial protection for work injury, retirement and...

15 Sep South Korean Antitrust Watchdog Investigates Kakao Mobility and Coupang

Posted at 15:17h in 2021-09-16, Quick Hits by Una Qu

South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) has commenced investigations into internet group Kakao’s [035720:KS] ride-hailing unit Kakao Mobility and e-commerce giant Coupang [CPNG:US] for their alleged unfair business practices, as reported by the Korea Economic Daily on September 12. To be more specific, taxi driver...

15 Sep ReNew Power Puts First Solar Project into Operation after Nasdaq Listing

Posted at 11:31h in 2021-09-16, Quick Hits by Tina Zhang

ReNew Power, a subsidiary of ReNew Energy Global [RNW: US], stated that its 250-megawatts (MW) solar plant had entered service in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, on September 9, as reported by Economics Times on the same day. This is a part of the Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS)...

14 Sep Orsted, T&T Reach Strategic Collaboration on Vietnamese Offshore Wind Project

Posted at 18:30h in 2021-09-16, Quick Hits by Tina Zhang

Vietnamese multi-industry group T&T and a leading wind power developer, Orsted, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) about a strategic collaboration on offshore wind development in Vietnam on September 9, according to Orsted’s own newsletter published on the same day. During this collaboration, two...

13 Sep China Continues Strengthening Controls of Online Games for Teen Anti-Addiction

Posted at 17:41h in 2021-09-16, Quick Hits by Una Qu

Chinese authorities on September 8 summoned major online gaming companies such as Tencent [0700:HK] and NetEase [NTES:US], along with game account rental and game broadcasting platforms, reiterating the gaming anti-addiction policy implementation to protect teenagers, as reported by Xinhuanet on the same day. The central...

09 Sep Greenwashing: A Problematic By-Product of Sustainable Development

Posted at 16:03h in 2021-09-09, Deep Dive by Tina Zhang

The operation and activities led by companies have an enormous impact on the environment, society, and legislation. In return, companies should take more responsibilities to protect the environment and step towards sustainable development goals. On June 17, environmental activists from South Korea, Australia, and other...

09 Sep Australian Infrastructure Investor IFM to Exit Coal Investment by 2030

Posted at 10:49h in 2021-09-09, Quick Hits by Helena Zhu

IFM Investors, one of Australia’s largest infrastructure investors, has pledged to phase out thermal coal from its infrastructure portfolio by 2030, as reported by Bloomberg on September 6. The infrastructure portfolio in question includes AUD75bn (USD56bn) of assets in toll roads, airports, and oil pipelines....