Hong Kong-listed firms urged to step up efforts on environmental, social and governance disclosure
Survey shows efforts will help companies to improve their investment value
Hong Kong-listed companies need to act fast to raise their environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting and quality disclosure to match international standards to attract global investors and maintain the city’s status as a leading global financial hub, according to global accountancy firm BDO.
Last year, the Hong Kong stock exchange made ESG disclosure mandatory for listed firms based on measurable key performance indicators such as targets and achievements.
“There is still a lot of room for improvement in the ESG disclosure required by the Hong Kong companies compared to the internationally recognised global reporting initiative standards,” said Ricky Cheng, BDO director and head of risk advisory. “As the listed companies have gained basic experience on first year ESG reporting, the Hong Kong stock exchange may consider raising these standards further.”
However, most Hong Kong-listed companies spend only HK$100,000 (US$12,818) or less on ESG reports, and have no plans to increase budgets for it in the coming year.
But despite benefits from issuing ESG reports, companies may face difficulties in collecting data for the report because they have limited resources.
“Such firms should start off with small pilot projects before setting up centralised ESG functions within the company to handle ESG data collection,” said Cheng, BDO director and head of risk advisory.