Hong Kong to boost impact investment sector with start-up and innovation focus Hong Kong can take a more active role in the multibillion-dollar impact investment sector by developing a thriving ecosystem that includes more start-ups, offers innovative financial products and upholds world-class standards, the finance chief has pledged. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Sunday that the initiative was part of the city’s commitment to making the world more sustainable. He noted that last year, the capital involved in impact investment had reached US$1.6 trillion and could rise to US$6 trillion by 2031. “We must foster collaboration among stakeholders, drive cross-sector synergies, and connect them with socially beneficial initiatives to maximise their effectiveness and influence,” he said, emphasising Hong Kong’s status as home to numerous family offices, charitable organisations, foundations and international investing networks. According to the Financial Services Development Council, impact investing has become a powerful catalyst for positive change in the financial landscape, with investors increasingly aiming to align their capital with values addressing global challenges such as climate change, poverty and inequality. “An important part of this ecosystem is start-ups,” Chan said in his weekly blog. “Their cutting-edge technologies, innovative products and solutions can help propel the region and the world towards fairer and more sustainable development across diverse sectors such as green transition, healthcare, financial services and education. “These also present investors with promising investment opportunities. By leveraging Hong Kong’s dual strengths in finance and innovation technology to foster mutual advancement, we can inject fresh momentum into the city’s development.” Chan also said Hong Kong should play a role in establishing internationally trusted standards and rules to facilitate investment. This included developing globally recognised criteria for project classification, financial reporting and disclosure in green and sustainable finance. “[These could] help bolster investor confidence in targeted projects while reducing cross-sector and cross-regional communication costs,” he said. He highlighted that including “transitional activities” – such as supporting pollution-prone industries in reducing carbon emissions – in the second phase of public consultation for the Hong Kong Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance could more effectively channel capital to relevant projects, addressing practical needs in many developing regions. Chan further stressed the importance of promoting product innovation that goes beyond quantity, meeting the development needs of different countries and regions with tools such as catastrophe and infrastructure bonds. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the city’s de facto central bank, is also exploring how tokenisation could improve the carbon market. Chan added that the online platform Impact Link, established by the Hong Kong Academy for Wealth Legacy, had brought together nearly 50 family offices and internationally renowned strategic partners to support philanthropic investments. A survey released earlier this month by the Sustainable Finance Initiative (SFI) found that ESG investments – which aim to improve society, reduce pollution and address climate change risks – made up at least half of the portfolios for nearly 20 per cent of family offices globally. The annual study also revealed that ESG investments form a growing proportion of the portfolios of nine out of 10 family offices worldwide, with nearly 60 per cent of family offices having at least 10 per cent of their investments in environmental, social and governance-related projects. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/3325483/hong-kong-boost-impact-investment-sector-start-and-innovation-focus (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post