From policy to practice: financing APAC’s green tech ambitions
New Frontiers | Sustainable Finance - Green Tech Innovation Summit 2024 | Virtual
At this year’s virtual event, our speaker lineup explored the drivers of emerging green technologies across Asia-Pacific (APAC). Top external practitioners joined our in-house credit experts to discuss key opportunities and hurdles to progress, including mobilizing financing for innovation.
Watch on-demand to hear the answers to key questions impacting the APAC region.
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Agenda14:00HKT
Welcome remarks
14:05HKTFireside chat: Financing the transition: Asia’s approach
Join the conversation with Dr. Jun Ma, Chairman and President of Hong Kong Green Finance Association, to discuss progress toward carbon transition in Asia, and how to overcome the region’s material financing gap. Dr. Ma – who is also Chairman of the Green Finance Committee, China Society for Finance and Banking, President of the Institute of Finance and Sustainability – is a pioneer and leader in the sustainable finance space. He personally led the drafting of China’s green finance guidelines and promoted a global green finance consensus under the G20, during his tenure at the People’s Bank of China.
14:30HKTPanel: Leveraging green tech innovation on Asia’s path to net zero
- What are the drivers of and hurdles for green tech innovation in APAC?
- Where will the financing for green tech come from?
- How can governments support both economic development and carbon transition?
- How do we avoid unintended environmental and social consequences from decarbonization?
15:30HKTClose of the event
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SpeakersDr. Jun Ma Chairman of Green Finance Committee of China Society for Finance and Banking Chairman and President, Hong Kong Green Finance Association
Ben McQuhae Co-Founder, Executive Committee Member and Special Advisor to the Chairman Hong Kong Green Finance Association (HKGFA)
Christine Loh Chief Development Strategist, Institute for the Environment The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Monica Bae Director, Investor Practice AIGCC (Asia Investor Group on Climate Change)
Gong Cheng Chief Credit Officer (APAC) Moody's Ratings
John Wang Vice President – Senior Analyst, Sustainable Finance Thought Leadership Moody's Ratings
Ada Li Vice President – Senior Credit Officer, Project & Infrastructure Finance Moody's Ratings
Natasha Brereton-Fukui Senior Vice President, Global ESG Research Moody's Ratings
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Dr. Ma has long been committed to the promotion of sustainable development and green finance, and has been widely influential both domestically and internationally. In China, Dr. Ma serves as the Chairman of Green Finance Committee of China Society for Finance and Banking, the President of Institute of Finance and Sustainability, a member of the National Expert Committee on Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China, Director of the China Environmental Protection Foundation, and Special Advisor to the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, and a member of the Advisory Committee of the Green Belt and Road Initiative Center(BRIGC).
In Hong Kong, Dr. Ma is the Chairman and President of the Hong Kong Green Finance Association, Chairman of Sprinkles (HK) Charity Foundation, member of the Hong Kong Council for Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Development, and a member of the Chief Executive’s Policy Unit Expert Group.
Internationally, Dr. Ma served as Co-Chair of the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group(G20 SFWG), Co-Chair of the Steering Committee of Green Investment Principles for the Belt and Road(GIP), and Co-Chair of the International Platform for Sustainable Finance (IPSF) Sustainable Finance Standards Working Group.
Over the past three decades, Dr. Ma has served as a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), Chief Economist of the Research Bureau of the PBoC, Managing Director and Chief Economist of the Greater China Region of Deutsche Bank (Hong Kong), as well as in professional positions at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), among others.
Gong Cheng is Moody’s Chief Credit Officer for Asia-Pacific (APAC). Based in Hong Kong SAR, China, Gong is also a Managing Director for the agency’s APAC Credit Strategy and Research Group. He is responsible for developing Moody’s views on emerging risks, conducting cross-sector macro research and aligning credit views across various industry sectors in the region. He chairs the APAC Credit Council and is a member of Moody’s Macroeconomic Board, which sets the agency’s global forecasts that inform rating assessments.
Prior to joining Moody’s, Gong had worked extensively in the public sector since 2010, including the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and Banque de France, the French central bank. He led policy and research work on green finance, Asian economies, crisis resolution and sovereign debt. He was a member of the Central Banks and Supervisors’ Network for Greening the Financial System and led working groups on green and transition finance and central banks’ net-zero investments. He had also served as an official representative of the ESM and BIS in the G20 International Financial Architecture Working Group, dealing with international issues such as official-sector lending, sovereign debt restructurings, global imbalances and reforms in the international monetary system.
Gong holds a PhD in economics from Sciences Po Paris and master's degrees in finance and international political economy from Sciences Po Paris and London School of Economics. He has published extensively on topics such as net zero transition, climate finance, sovereign debt restructuring and fiscal and monetary policies.
CURRENT PROFESSIONAL STATUS
- Founder, Ben McQuhae & Co (www.bmcquhae.com), a Hong Kong-based corporate, commercial & regulatory law firm for sustainability and innovation that has been described as the only true ESG law firm on the planet and is Winner of the INSEAD Business as a Force for Good Award. The firm only accepts mandates that are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Ben is an industry leading lawyer, a recognized leader in sustainable finance and green fintech, and a pioneer in carbon markets and decarbonization. Qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales (1999) and Hong Kong (2003)
- Founder, Venturis (www.venturis.eco) an ESG strategy, implementation, coaching and intelligence advisory firm. Ben McQuhae & Co and Venturis provide a unique offering that combines legal solutions and sustainability solutions to help drive global sustainability efforts.
LEADERSHIP POSITIONS
- Co-Founder, Executive Committee Member and Special Advisor to the Chairman, Hong Kong Green Finance Association (www.hkgreenfinance.org)
- Hong Kong representative, United Nations network of international Financial Centres for Sustainability (www.fc4s.org)
- Lead, APFF/SFDN Carbon Markets Workstream to develop policy recommendations for APEC finance ministers
- Member, Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) Working Group on Carbon Market Opportunities
- Advisory Panel Member and contributor, BIS Innovation Hub & Hong Kong Monetary Authority “Project Genesis”, A vision for technology-driven green finance
- Advisory Panel Member, BIS Innovation Hub & Hong Kong Monetary Authority “Project Genesis 2”, mitigation outcome securities
- Project Coordinator, The Greater Bay Area Green Finance Alliance
- Founder, Angel Attorneys
- Board member, The Alliance for Sustainable Schools
- Founder and Co-chair, Hong Kong Green Finance Task Force (2017-2018)
Professor Christine Loh is Chief Development Strategist, Institute for the Environment at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Asia Society Hong Kong’s Scholar in Residence (2023-24). She is a lawyer by training and a commodities trader by profession. In the 1990s, she became a prominent legislator, before establishing a non-profit policy think tank to help find policy solutions. She is a former Undersecretary for the Environment in the HKSAR Government (2012-17) and the special consultant to the Chief Executive on mainland environmental policies (2019-20). Professor Loh has a long history in driving the discussion on sustainability, and combines knowledge in natural resources, climate change, finance, development as well as geopolitics. A major area of her focus today is the rise of a multipolar world and the role of Asia.
Loh had served on the board of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, and is currently on the boards of CDP Worldwide, Global Maritime Forum, New Forests Pty Limited, and Towngas Smart Energy Company Limited. She has received many awards, and has authored academic and popular works – her latest book published in 2023 is on Covid-19.
Monica Bae is Director of Investor Practice at AIGCC. She manages collaborative engagement with investors in Asia to build capacity and integrate climate-related issues in investment processes, and to increase capital flow into decarbonization to align with a 1.5 degrees future.
She oversees work across several thematic focus areas relating to Paris-aligned investments, energy transition, and forest & land use. She also leads the strategy development and oversees the AIGCC’s Forest and Land Use workstream that supports investors through capacity building and implementation to address deforestation within Asia’s context. She is passionate in facilitating the development of sustainable investments in Asia and is part of global and regional coalitions of leading financial institutions that spearheads sustainable finance initiatives.
Monica has over 16 years of experience in financial services and economic research, especially in managing private debt funds for Asian institutional investors and structuring investment products. Most recently, she was the regional lead in leading nature-positive engagement with Asian capital markets stakeholders at CDP.
In his role, John is involved in integrating ESG into Moody’s credit rating research and is the point person for Moody’s ESG outreach in the Asia-Pacific region. He is also responsible for publishing thematic and issuer-specific research on ESG risks relevant to credit analysis.
Prior to joining Moody’s, John was CEO of Visiondom ESG, an independent ESG consultancy in China, which helped institutional investors integrate ESG into their investment process. He also worked as an ESG specialist with Fidelity International’s Asia Stewardship and Sustainable Investing team, focusing on the Greater China and Oceania markets for five years. At Fidelity, he was closely involved in promoting ESG best practices in Asia and ESG integration, and had a special focus on corporate governance and carbon trading.
John holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Singapore Management University and is a CFA Charterholder.
Ada Li is a Vice President - Senior Credit Officer with the Project & Infrastructure Finance Group, covering a portfolio of Chinese infrastructure companies across state-owned or privately-owned utilities, ports, railways, toll roads, and local government finance vehicles.
Before joining Moody’s, Ada worked as a Vice President at Deutsche Bank, where she oversaw Greater China corporates and financial institutions. Ada has also worked at Barclays Capital, where she covered Chinese financial institutions and commodity companies.
Ada holds a BBA in Accounting & Finance from The University of Hong Kong. She is also a CFA charterholder and a certified FRM holder.
Natasha Brereton-Fukui is Senior Vice President in Global ESG Research at Moody’s Ratings, based in Singapore.
Natasha is responsible for driving Moody’s Ratings’ global thought leadership on environmental, social and governance issues. She also oversees overall research content in the Asia-Pacific region. Natasha is passionate about diversity in the workplace, and previously served as co-chair of Moody’s APAC Multicultural Business Resource Group.
Before joining Moody’s in 2014, Natasha spent more than a decade in journalism, based in Tokyo, London and Singapore, chiefly with Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. She was named “Journalist of the Year” in the 2009 UK Institutional Press Awards.
Natasha has a BA in Chinese Studies (Hons) from the University of Oxford and was a Daiwa Scholar from 2002-4. She holds the CFA's Certificate in Climate and Investing.
Dr. Ma has long been committed to the promotion of sustainable development and green finance, and has been widely influential both domestically and internationally. In China, Dr. Ma serves as the Chairman of Green Finance Committee of China Society for Finance and Banking, the President of Institute of Finance and Sustainability, a member of the National Expert Committee on Ministry of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China, Director of the China Environmental Protection Foundation, and Special Advisor to the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, and a member of the Advisory Committee of the Green Belt and Road Initiative Center(BRIGC).
In Hong Kong, Dr. Ma is the Chairman and President of the Hong Kong Green Finance Association, Chairman of Sprinkles (HK) Charity Foundation, member of the Hong Kong Council for Carbon Neutrality and Sustainable Development, and a member of the Chief Executive’s Policy Unit Expert Group.
Internationally, Dr. Ma served as Co-Chair of the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group(G20 SFWG), Co-Chair of the Steering Committee of Green Investment Principles for the Belt and Road(GIP), and Co-Chair of the International Platform for Sustainable Finance (IPSF) Sustainable Finance Standards Working Group.
Over the past three decades, Dr. Ma has served as a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), Chief Economist of the Research Bureau of the PBoC, Managing Director and Chief Economist of the Greater China Region of Deutsche Bank (Hong Kong), as well as in professional positions at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), among others.
CURRENT PROFESSIONAL STATUS
- Founder, Ben McQuhae & Co (www.bmcquhae.com), a Hong Kong-based corporate, commercial & regulatory law firm for sustainability and innovation that has been described as the only true ESG law firm on the planet and is Winner of the INSEAD Business as a Force for Good Award. The firm only accepts mandates that are aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Ben is an industry leading lawyer, a recognized leader in sustainable finance and green fintech, and a pioneer in carbon markets and decarbonization. Qualified as a solicitor in England & Wales (1999) and Hong Kong (2003)
- Founder, Venturis (www.venturis.eco) an ESG strategy, implementation, coaching and intelligence advisory firm. Ben McQuhae & Co and Venturis provide a unique offering that combines legal solutions and sustainability solutions to help drive global sustainability efforts.
LEADERSHIP POSITIONS
- Co-Founder, Executive Committee Member and Special Advisor to the Chairman, Hong Kong Green Finance Association (www.hkgreenfinance.org)
- Hong Kong representative, United Nations network of international Financial Centres for Sustainability (www.fc4s.org)
- Lead, APFF/SFDN Carbon Markets Workstream to develop policy recommendations for APEC finance ministers
- Member, Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) Working Group on Carbon Market Opportunities
- Advisory Panel Member and contributor, BIS Innovation Hub & Hong Kong Monetary Authority “Project Genesis”, A vision for technology-driven green finance
- Advisory Panel Member, BIS Innovation Hub & Hong Kong Monetary Authority “Project Genesis 2”, mitigation outcome securities
- Project Coordinator, The Greater Bay Area Green Finance Alliance
- Founder, Angel Attorneys
- Board member, The Alliance for Sustainable Schools
- Founder and Co-chair, Hong Kong Green Finance Task Force (2017-2018)
Professor Christine Loh is Chief Development Strategist, Institute for the Environment at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and Asia Society Hong Kong’s Scholar in Residence (2023-24). She is a lawyer by training and a commodities trader by profession. In the 1990s, she became a prominent legislator, before establishing a non-profit policy think tank to help find policy solutions. She is a former Undersecretary for the Environment in the HKSAR Government (2012-17) and the special consultant to the Chief Executive on mainland environmental policies (2019-20). Professor Loh has a long history in driving the discussion on sustainability, and combines knowledge in natural resources, climate change, finance, development as well as geopolitics. A major area of her focus today is the rise of a multipolar world and the role of Asia.
Loh had served on the board of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, and is currently on the boards of CDP Worldwide, Global Maritime Forum, New Forests Pty Limited, and Towngas Smart Energy Company Limited. She has received many awards, and has authored academic and popular works – her latest book published in 2023 is on Covid-19.
Monica Bae is Director of Investor Practice at AIGCC. She manages collaborative engagement with investors in Asia to build capacity and integrate climate-related issues in investment processes, and to increase capital flow into decarbonization to align with a 1.5 degrees future.
She oversees work across several thematic focus areas relating to Paris-aligned investments, energy transition, and forest & land use. She also leads the strategy development and oversees the AIGCC’s Forest and Land Use workstream that supports investors through capacity building and implementation to address deforestation within Asia’s context. She is passionate in facilitating the development of sustainable investments in Asia and is part of global and regional coalitions of leading financial institutions that spearheads sustainable finance initiatives.
Monica has over 16 years of experience in financial services and economic research, especially in managing private debt funds for Asian institutional investors and structuring investment products. Most recently, she was the regional lead in leading nature-positive engagement with Asian capital markets stakeholders at CDP.
Gong Cheng is Moody’s Chief Credit Officer for Asia-Pacific (APAC). Based in Hong Kong SAR, China, Gong is also a Managing Director for the agency’s APAC Credit Strategy and Research Group. He is responsible for developing Moody’s views on emerging risks, conducting cross-sector macro research and aligning credit views across various industry sectors in the region. He chairs the APAC Credit Council and is a member of Moody’s Macroeconomic Board, which sets the agency’s global forecasts that inform rating assessments.
Prior to joining Moody’s, Gong had worked extensively in the public sector since 2010, including the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and Banque de France, the French central bank. He led policy and research work on green finance, Asian economies, crisis resolution and sovereign debt. He was a member of the Central Banks and Supervisors’ Network for Greening the Financial System and led working groups on green and transition finance and central banks’ net-zero investments. He had also served as an official representative of the ESM and BIS in the G20 International Financial Architecture Working Group, dealing with international issues such as official-sector lending, sovereign debt restructurings, global imbalances and reforms in the international monetary system.
Gong holds a PhD in economics from Sciences Po Paris and master's degrees in finance and international political economy from Sciences Po Paris and London School of Economics. He has published extensively on topics such as net zero transition, climate finance, sovereign debt restructuring and fiscal and monetary policies.
In his role, John is involved in integrating ESG into Moody’s credit rating research and is the point person for Moody’s ESG outreach in the Asia-Pacific region. He is also responsible for publishing thematic and issuer-specific research on ESG risks relevant to credit analysis.
Prior to joining Moody’s, John was CEO of Visiondom ESG, an independent ESG consultancy in China, which helped institutional investors integrate ESG into their investment process. He also worked as an ESG specialist with Fidelity International’s Asia Stewardship and Sustainable Investing team, focusing on the Greater China and Oceania markets for five years. At Fidelity, he was closely involved in promoting ESG best practices in Asia and ESG integration, and had a special focus on corporate governance and carbon trading.
John holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Singapore Management University and is a CFA Charterholder.
Ada Li is a Vice President - Senior Credit Officer with the Project & Infrastructure Finance Group, covering a portfolio of Chinese infrastructure companies across state-owned or privately-owned utilities, ports, railways, toll roads, and local government finance vehicles.
Before joining Moody’s, Ada worked as a Vice President at Deutsche Bank, where she oversaw Greater China corporates and financial institutions. Ada has also worked at Barclays Capital, where she covered Chinese financial institutions and commodity companies.
Ada holds a BBA in Accounting & Finance from The University of Hong Kong. She is also a CFA charterholder and a certified FRM holder.
Natasha Brereton-Fukui is Senior Vice President in Global ESG Research at Moody’s Ratings, based in Singapore.
Natasha is responsible for driving Moody’s Ratings’ global thought leadership on environmental, social and governance issues. She also oversees overall research content in the Asia-Pacific region. Natasha is passionate about diversity in the workplace, and previously served as co-chair of Moody’s APAC Multicultural Business Resource Group.
Before joining Moody’s in 2014, Natasha spent more than a decade in journalism, based in Tokyo, London and Singapore, chiefly with Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal. She was named “Journalist of the Year” in the 2009 UK Institutional Press Awards.
Natasha has a BA in Chinese Studies (Hons) from the University of Oxford and was a Daiwa Scholar from 2002-4. She holds the CFA's Certificate in Climate and Investing.