Hong Kong was responsible for nearly half of the green bonds issued in Asia in 2024 and saw a surge in sustainability-related funds, as strong demand from regional mainland governments and start-ups raised the city’s stature as a finance hub for climate-friendly projects, according to a minister.
Green bond issuance in Hong Kong last year reached US$43 billion, representing 45 per cent of the region’s total and keeping the city atop the league table in Asia for the seventh consecutive year, said Christopher Hui Ching-yu, secretary for financial services and the treasury, in a meeting with lawmakers on Monday.
The total of green bonds plus green loans issued in Hong Kong reached US$84 billion last year, a 50 per cent increase from 2021, he added.
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Hong Kong’s fund industry also registered strong growth in environmental, social and governance (ESG)-related funds, Hui said. The number of those funds increased by 51 per cent over the past three years to about 200 as of June, while assets under management rose 18 per cent during the same period to more than HK$1.1 trillion (US$141 billion), he said.
“Mainland China’s goal to promote sustainable development and cut down carbon emissions has provided a lot of opportunities for the city to act as a green financing hub,” Hui said.
China has made its green-energy transition a key economic priority. In 2020, President Xi Jinping unveiled goals for China to reach peak carbon emissions by 2030 and be carbon neutral by 2060.
On Monday’s meeting, several lawmakers expressed concerns about whether Hong Kong had offered sufficient incentives to entice companies to issue green bonds in the city, noting that other cities like Singapore were also working hard to promote green finance.
Hui downplayed the worries, saying the government and regulators had done a lot to enhance green-finance regulations and cross-border fundraising.
Since 2021, the governments of Shenzhen, Guangdong, Hainan and others had raised about 40 billion yuan (US$5.6 billion) in Hong Kong by issuing yuan-denominated bonds, including green bonds, blue bonds and sustainable bonds, Hui said. The proceeds helped build infrastructure to cut down pollution, use less energy and address climate-change risks.
Mainland start-ups involved in green or renewable energy technology could find it easier to raise funds in the city under bourse operator Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing‘s Chapter 18C listing rules, which were put in place in March 2023. The rules allowed innovative tech companies to list in Hong Kong even if they had little or no revenue, he said.
