Hong Kong and Singapore lead green fintech development among the five APEC economies

The study finds government support and talent development are crucial to drive the growth of green fintech

HONG KONG, 27 October 2022 /PRNewswire/ — GoImpact, an ESG and sustainability education firm, along with The The Chinese University of Hong Kong Business School (“CUHK Business School”) released the findings of its working paper, Exploring the green Fintech ecosystem in Asia: Insights from Five Economies in APEC. This study finds that government support plays an important and essential role in facilitating green fintech development, while a lack of talent is a common concern in the five economies of the region.

Derived from three elements – environment, finance and technology – the industry report defines green fintech as financial activities that use green technologies that provide better environmental results.

Industry experts from five APEC economies, namely Hong Kong SAR, China (“Hong Kong“), IndonesiaRepublic of Korea (“Korea”), Singapore and Thailand, has urged politicians to establish an enabling environment for green fintech to flourish. According to them, governments can help by offering incentive schemes for startups to develop in this area and spearhead the change by setting sustainable regulatory frameworks and imposing disclosures, reporting and thresholds.

The study also suggests that financial institutions should embrace the sustainable agenda to achieve the triple bottom line: profit, people and the planet. Given today’s competitive banking environment and the global shortage of green talent, financial institutions should leverage their unique positions in the business ecosystem to develop more in-house sustainability talent to advance the sustainability agenda, the report further explains.

The study examined policies, markets and opportunities regarding fintech’s role in driving green finance in the five selected APEC economies through desk surveys, interviews, as well as focus group discussions involving green fintech startups, governments and quasi-governmental organizations, green fintech-related associations and financial institutions .

The full press release with key findings from the study is available for download from:
https://www.bschool.cuhk.edu.hk/press-releases/exploring_the_green_fintech_ecosystem_in_asia_insights_from_five_economies_in_apec

SOURCE GoImpact