Asia Pacific

A new pledge to use foreign reserves to buy ESG assets is one of many institutional measures in Japan. But the country has still not realized its green potential at the corporate level.

Last week, four global banks unveiled cross-border wealth management services under the banner of Wealth Connect, but with the crisis at Evergrande unresolved and growth slipping, the scheme comes at a tricky moment.

We have reached the bidding deadline for Citi’s retail assets in Asia, and the field is becoming clearer. When transactions start being announced early next year, they are likely to favour those who not only offer top dollar but also promise to keep staff on and won’t cause a regulatory headache.

Investors fear that many Asian governments aren’t doing enough to transition to net zero. They are therefore engaging with the region’s largest utilities hoping for better results. CLP may be an example for others to follow.

As more Chinese high-yield names default in the real-estate sector, one of the region’s leading distressed debt investors shares his views on the state of the market – and the investment opportunities that come with it.

There has always been great overlap between Shariah-compliant finance and ESG principles. Malaysia is trying to harness the potential that arises from this confluence.

President Xi Jinping has set out ambitious plans to decarbonize China’s economy. But most companies and banks, hampered by a lack of top-down regulation, have little idea what ESG is, let alone how to measure and report it. It is a mess – and one that China needs to clear up fast.

China unveiled a plan for its first national parks on Friday, the final day of the COP15 conference in Kunming. It reveals the weight of Party concerns about pollution and biodiversity fragmentation, and their impact on political stability.

Barclays all but left Asia five years ago but is slowly returning to relevance in the region. The hire of Angela Liu from Deutsche Bank as its first China chief executive is a step in the right direction.

Asian high yield has always been dominated by Chinese real estate, so the Evergrande crisis has shut down the market for new issuance. Is this the chance for non-Chinese issuers to step up?

Climate change cannot be tackled in isolation. Biodiversity is an equally important challenge, and the two must be considered in tandem. A new report backed by Singapore’s Temasek spells out the challenge and the opportunity.

A new report by US-based AidData tears China’s enormous Belt and Road Initiative to pieces. The project has mired hundreds of nations in debt, much of which is hidden even from host countries, and the project is increasingly unpopular.

Macquarie Group chief executive Shemara Wikramanayake has laid out her bank’s ambitions in green energy, as its Green Investment Group reports a record portfolio.

Global investors shrug off Evergrande’s woes and welcome a new link to China’s onshore bond market.

An Australian court case brings together a former prime minister, Goldman Sachs, and a tale of friendship asunder at a funds management company.

A consensus that Evergrande’s failure will be more like the LTCM unwind than the Lehman bankruptcy could underplay ongoing challenges in hedging Chinese exposure.

Many initiatives have promised to crowd in private capital through the catalytic effect of their own seed investment. Will this one work?

The vast majority of Bangladesh’s consumer economy happens through small shops shackled by logistics, scale and access to capital. ShopUp aims to bring some of the fintech and financial inclusion principles we have seen elsewhere to this highly populated and fast-growing country.

Retirement marks the end of a successful and well-timed career, and removes the most senior woman from Asian investment banking.

Global investors want to know if troubled Chinese developer Evergrande can meet its bond repayments – but far bigger risks exist, from local government bond defaults to badly run banks exposed to overleveraged developers.

China faces tough choices in the months ahead. Make the right decisions and it can become the global leader in ESG, a country determined to shed its industrial past and embrace a cleaner, greener future.

Australia is not the first country that comes to mind with regards to climate action. But away from the political rhetoric, the exceptionally powerful superannuation funds and corporates are pushing change. The key is an acceptance that in Australia it’s all about transition.

China’s use of financial acronyms began in 1980 and has since morphed into an all-out love affair that shows no sign of abating.

Evergrande is in trouble, drowning in debt and besieged by angry investors. It is bad news for shareholders, but it also raises harder and darker questions about investing in China.

China’s qualified domestic limited partnership scheme, which lets foreign asset managers raise money onshore in renminbi to invest offshore, is taking shape – but it is complex. Euromoney has some tips designed to stop you wasting time and money.

After a year of testing, China announced the rollout of a ground-breaking wealth management scheme that binds Hong Kong with Guangdong province. It should prove a boon to Hong Kong banks and mainland investors – and to Hong Kong itself.

Singapore’s DBS has unleashed an unlikely new weapon against impersonation scams: a strange blue-haired man called Kim Huat.

In May, Benjamin Diokno, governor of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), proudly announced the formation of a new ‘bad bank’ asset management company regime under the Financial Institutions Strategic Transfer Act - known by the bold and bracing acronym, FIST.

Kevin Sneader’s next move has been widely discussed since it became clear he would serve only one term as global managing partner at McKinsey. Now that he has turned up at Goldman, it seems a logical move.

Australia is an interesting market for those wondering how neobank models might evolve, as it has already experienced success, failure, and sale to the incumbents.