Developing a Vibrant Green Finance Ecosystem

Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) - Willis Towers Watson’s Asia Pacific Risk Virtual Conference

26 April 2022 

At the RIMS - Willis Towers Watson’s Asia Pacific Risk Virtual Conference, MAS Assistant Managing Director (Development & International), Ms Gillian Tan, spoke about the role of the insurance industry in supporting corporates, economies, and governments in building resilience for complex risks, including pandemic and climate risks. She shared Singapore’s efforts to support data analytics, human capital and the development of innovative insurance and risk financing solutions for Asia. 

Inaugural Transition Finance Towards Net Zero (TFNZ) Conference 

4 October 2022

MAS, together with knowledge partners McKinsey & Company and Convergence Blended Finance, and supported by the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), hosted the inaugural TFNZ Conference, with the theme of Scaling Blended Finance. The conference provided a platform to galvanise key public and private sector stakeholders to mobilise capital at scale to help economies and corporates decarbonise. It highlighted the urgency and need for public, private and philanthropic stakeholders to work synergistically to mobilise larger amounts of public and private climate finance. 

Singapore’s private banking industry takes the lead in setting training benchmark to upskill private banking professionals in sustainable finance

14 October 2022

The Private Banking Industry Group (PBIG) Sustainability Taskforce, in consultation with the Institute of Banking and Finance Singapore (IBF) and MAS, developed a common industry training benchmark to upskill private banking relationship managers in the area of sustainability, taking reference from the Sustainable Finance Technical Skills and Competencies (SF TSCs) developed by IBF and MAS. These efforts demonstrate the private banking industry’s commitment to facilitate the transition towards a low-carbon economy.

Launch of the FM Global Centre

8 November 2022 

At the opening ceremony of the FM Global Centre in Singapore, MAS Deputy Managing Director (Markets and Development), Mr Leong Sing Chiong, spoke of the role that insurers play as important partners in helping governments and businesses manage physical and transition risks, and how the insurance industry can empower the development of the green economy in Asia.

Green Finance Industry Taskforce (GFIT) launched third consultation on green and transition taxonomy

15 February 2023

The GFIT published for public consultation detailed thresholds and criteria for the classification of green and transition activities in five sectors: agriculture and forestry/land use, industrial, waste and water, information and communications technology, and carbon capture and sequestration. This built on GFIT’s two earlier rounds of consultations in January 2021 and May 2022, which proposed thresholds and criteria for the energy, transport and real estate sectors.  The eight sectors covered within the taxonomy account for close to 90% of greenhouse gas emissions in Southeast Asia.     

Launch of Finance for Net Zero (FiNZ) Action Plan

20 April 2023

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, and MAS Deputy Chairman, Mr Lawrence Wong, launched the FiNZ Action Plan, which set out MAS’ strategies to mobilise financing to catalyse Asia’s net zero transition and decarbonisation activities in Singapore and the region. The FiNZ Action Plan is an expansion of MAS’ Green Finance Action Plan launched in 2019, to include transition finance. The FiNZ Action Plan aims to achieve four strategic outcomes: (i) Data, Definitions & Disclosures; (ii) Climate Resilient Financial Sector; (iii) Credible Transition Plans; and (iv) Green & Transition Solutions & Markets. The four strategic outcomes will be enabled by Green Tech Solutions and a skilled and capable workforce.

Financing Asia’s Transition (FAST) Conference

8 June 2023

Jointly organised by MAS, BlackRock and Temasek, the FAST Conference in June 2023 brought together key decision-makers across financial institutions and the real economy to catalyse both green and transition finance. The conference covered topics such as opportunities in climate financing particularly in emerging markets and developing economies, building net-zero portfolios, developing a trusted global carbon market, phasing out Asia’s coal-fired power plants and leveraging philanthropic capital. At the conference, Senior Minister and Coordinating Minister for Social Policies, and MAS Chairman, Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, spoke on the use of financial regulation and supervision to bring about climate action. MAS also announced that it would set supervisory expectations to steer financial institutions’ transition planning processes to facilitate credible decarbonisation efforts.