Dr. Ma [Jun, Chairman of Capacity-building Alliance of Sustainable Investment (CASI)],
Prof. Ming Wen [Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, The University of Hong Kong],
Paul [Moody, Managing Director, Global Partnerships & Client Solutions, CFA Institute],
Thomas [Beloe, Director of Sustainable Finance Hub, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)],
Dr. Leng [Bing, Board Member, International Sustainability Standards Board],
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good Morning. Let me first thank CASI for organising this forum during Hong Kong Green Week. My gratitude also goes to our fellow co-hosts – HKU, CFA Institute, and UNDP. This is truly a joint effort of like-minded organisations, and it is a great pleasure for HKMA’s Infrastructure Financing Facilitation Office to also play a part.
Today marks the close of a busy and remarkably fruitful Hong Kong Green Week. One strong message that comes out of a rich series of sessions and discussions is that, Asia has moved to the very forefront of the global sustainability efforts. The question is no longer whether Asia will transition. Rather, it is about how we are leapfrogging from being the world’s largest energy importer and greenhouse gas emitter, to becoming a powerhouse in clean tech and a catalyst for the global transition.
We should be hopeful. For Asia, climate transition and adaptation aren't just environmental goals – they are increasingly associated with economic resilience and security. This summer alone, catastrophic flooding and glacial collapses in different parts of Asia took more than a thousand lives and dislocated millions. Thousands of people remain missing. Prolonged conflicts in the Middle East have also led to waves of energy shocks and supply chain disruptions.
In fact, if we put transition finance and adaptation finance in the wider economic context, they may well be our best shot at building resilience against extreme weather, mitigating the impact of the volatile cycle of energy shocks.Or, as this year’s Green Week theme puts it, "future-proofing sustainable growth." The strong turnout this week reflects our shared commitment to push this agenda forward. And today’s forum zeroes in on the very backbone of Asian economies: the Small and Medium Enterprises.
SMEs account for roughly two-thirds of employment and nearly 40% of economic output across Asia.1 They directly shape everyday livelihoods and support local communities. Yet, SMEs are also the most exposed and vulnerable to both transition and physical risks – lacking the deep balance-sheet reserves that help large corporates weather economic shifts and climate hazards.
Despite their significance to our economies, SMEs are far too often missing from the transition dialogue. Existing transition planning frameworks and scenario analysis tools are almost exclusively designed through the lens of large, listed corporations that are vastly different from SMEs in both resources and capacity. For many SMEs, sustainability feels out of reach. It isn't just a lack of awareness or a result of competing operational priorities, but that the deck feels stacked against them. Higher costs of capital, limited financing options, patchy data, and a lack of technical know-how, just to name a few.
To drive Asia’s transition forward, we must build an ecosystem that enables SMEs: an ecosystem that helps them invest in energy efficiency, meet the green demands of their clients, strengthen supply chain resilience, and shield day-to-day operations against extreme weather.
Sustainable finance hubs like Hong Kong have a critical role to play in ensuring that sustainable finance is not only accessible to SMEs, but can be tailored to their everyday realities. Over the years, Hong Kong has served as the regional gateway to channel capital towards sustainability efforts of corporates across Asia. In 2025, we arranged around 40% of Asia’s international green and sustainable bonds. Building on this momentum, we are actively stepping up our efforts to make sustainable finance more accessible in three key areas:
- First, we are providing clearer definitions for transition and adaptation. Just this Monday, the HKMA kicked off the public consultation on Phase 2B of Hong Kong Taxonomy.
- This latest phase expands the coverage of the taxonomy to include more transition activities and adaptation measures.
- It addresses the financing needs of hard-to-abate sectors, like iron and steel, alongside enabling newer technologies like battery storage and sustainable fuels.
- It also provides corporates with a reference point for benchmarking their transition and adaptation efforts, and for engaging lenders and investors on sustainable finance opportunities.
- Second, we are lowering the entry threshold for sustainable financing, especially for transition opportunities. Earlier this year, we refined our grant scheme that subsidises green and sustainable debt issuances in Hong Kong.
- The scope of eligible expenses was expanded to cover also advisory services in developing sustainable finance frameworks and transition plans.
- By lowering the upfront technical and cost barriers, we hope to encourage and support more corporates to tap sustainable debt markets, while still holding our line against greenwashing.
- Third, we are helping companies across the supply chain calculate their carbon footprint. A steering group of financial regulators in Hong Kong has developed an online, user-friendly greenhouse gas emissions calculator for free access as a public utility. Companies can simply use their energy and water bills to calculate their carbon footprint.
- As our companies are growing their business presence in the region, we are also adding emission factors from Southeast Asian economies to support companies that operate in those economies.
- Our goal is simple: provide a pragmatic starting point for smaller companies that lack resources and technical know-hows, empowering them to understand their sustainability profile and make informed business and funding decisions.
While these measures help make sustainable finance more accessible, moving the needle on SME transition requires much more. It demands active and ongoing dialogue and collaboration among policy makers, standard setters, financial institutions, and corporates to translate the prevailing standards and frameworks to decision-useful information applicable to SMEs on the ground.
This is precisely why today’s forum is timely and relevant. I encourage you all to engage in candid discussions about what works, what needs to adapt, and how we can forge the partnerships required to scale practical, real-world solutions.
With that, I wish you all a fruitful forum. Thank you.