HONG KONG: HKEX Announces Launch of STAGE

Wednesday December 2 2020

On 1^st December 2020, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) announced the official launch of the Sustainable and Green Exchange (STAGE), Asia’s first multi-asset sustainable investment product platform, supporting fast-growing global demand for sustainable finance.

At the heart of the STAGE platform is an online product repository, which at launch features 29 sustainable-themed products from leading Asian corporates. These HKEX-listed sustainable products include sustainability, green, and transition bonds from issuers across a variety of sectors including utilities, transportation, property development and financial services as well as ESG-related exchange traded products. Over time, the scope of the product repository will increase across asset class, industry, in Hong Kong and beyond.

STAGE will allow issuers to provide investors with more information on their sustainable investment products, promoting transparency and facilitating access. Issuers included on STAGE must provide additional voluntary disclosures on their sustainable investment products, such as use of proceeds reports, as well as annual post issuance reports.

This additional information will enable investors to access a trusted, easy-to-use platform for the region’s fast growing ‘green sector’. At the same time, the data will act as a benchmark for issuers seeking to raise funds for their sustainable projects and will also contribute to the standardisation of sustainability metrics.

STAGE is also an online repository of green and sustainable finance resources, promoting market education, knowledge sharing and stakeholder engagement in sustainable finance. This extensive, and growing resources library providing case studies, webcast videos, guidance materials, research papers and other publications aim to help market participants enrich their understanding of sustainable finance, green products, ESG integration and sustainable investing. HKEX is working closely with local, regional and international partners to further expand the available content on STAGE.

Click on the above link for further information.