Hong Kong needs to build ESG talent pool to shape standards acceptable to both Asian and western issuers and investors, forum told
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As Asia’s leading international financial centre, Hong Kong serves as a conduit between investors and issuers in the East as well as the West, Joseph Chan Ho-lim, the acting secretary for financial services and the treasury, said at the “EU and Hong Kong: the Green Way Forward” forum, organised by the European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong (EuroCham) and the European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macau.
But a shortage of sustainability professionals was a major challenge that needed to be overcome to develop sustainable finance in the city, he added.
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“When I first took this role back in 2017, most of the banks either did not have a regional head for sustainable finance, or only one head for the entire region,” he said. “But nowadays, all of them have a team of at least five or 10 people.”