Sustainable Development Finance in China丨November 2019

1. China Development Bank DB Issues the First Sustainable Development Themed Green Finance Bond “Lv Zhai Tong”

On November 12, China Development Bank (CBD) issued the first Bond Connect Green Bond under the theme of sustainable development for global investors. All funds raised will go towards green projects to preserving the Yangtze River and promoting green development including the ecological construction of Chongqing forestry and the national reserve forest projects. Which aims to better preserve the Yangtze River and facilitate the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

2. Hua Xia Bank’s ESG WMPs Exceeds 10 Billion Yuan, Hua Xia is Buildng ESG Database

On November 7, Hua Xia Bank’s ESG Wealth Management Products (WMPs) have raised a total amount of over 10 billion Yuan. In terms of ESG data research, Hua Xia Bank’s asset management department is currently exploring the application of natural language processing technology in ESG related issues. It intends to use the ESG factor as a data point to build a knowledge map to quickly collect and analyze data.

3. “2019 Sustainable Development Goals-- New Ideas and Global Practices” Forum Was Held in Renmin University of China

On November 11, the Sustainable Digital Finance Seminar held by the Financial Research Institute of Central University of Financeand Economics. Chairman of The Sustainable Digital Finance Alliance Mar ianne Haahr, Deputy Director of China Beijing Environment Exchange Junsong Gong, Deputy Director of The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution of The World Economic Forum DanilKerimi attended the seminar and held discussions over topics including “Financial Technology and Sustainable Development”, “Practice and Thinking of Carbon Inclusion in China”, "the Fourth Industrial Revolution" and "Consumer Decision Making".

4. China Energy Conservation Launches Environmental Risk Data Globally

At 9 a.m. on November 14, 2019, local time in France, the first ESG-themed environmental risk data product which is developed independently by China Energy Conservation was globally launched, and it is also the world’s first public release of China’s A-share environmental risk data, providing a brand new analytical perspective for global institutional investors investing in A-share listed companies.

5. Financial Research Institute Holds the First Domestic Sustainable Digital Finance Seminar

On November 11, the Sustainable Digital Finance Seminar held by the Financial Research Institute of Central University of Finance and Economics. This seminar was moderated by Dr. Chen Bo, the deputy director at the Institute of Bay Area International Financial Technology Laboratory and a research associate at the Institute of Finance and Economics of the Central University of the Finance and Economics. Many experts from regulator, academic and industry sectors attended the meeting.

6. Blue Book of Corporate Social Responsibility (2019): About Half of the Enterprises Are Still Passive

The Blue Book of Corporate Social Responsibility 2019 was launched in Beijing during the China Social Responsibility 100 Forum on Nov 17th. More than 300 participants were present, including representatives from State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development and numbers of enterprises. According to the Blue Book, in 2019 China’s Top 300 Enterprises’ social responsibility development index was 32.7 points, showing that they are still in the initial phase of social responsibility development. About half enterprises with scores below 20 points are still “observing” the situation.   

7. NDRC Supports ADB and Alibaba Group to Launch Rural Revitalization Cooperation

On November 15th, Foreign Investment Department of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), International Financial Cooperation Division of Ministry of Finance and Asian Development Bank (ADB) jointly held the “ABD Loan Model and Innovation Seminar” in Beijing. At the seminar, they engaged in discussions of ADB’s innovative lending instruments, green financing methods, non-sovereign loan operations and framework research methods.