Green bonds up to US$4.3 trillion mark

The size of the sustainable bond market has hit US$4.3 trillion (HK$33.54 trillion) by year-end, and Hong Kong is poised to lead the development of transitional financing, said the Financial Services Development Council.

That bit of good news came as the council, together with Friends of the Earth (HK) and the China Sustainable Investment Forum, held a forum to mark Earth Day yesterday.

The event was aimed at accelerating a transition in finance to a sustainable future by allowing financial institutions, professional associations, corporations and industry experts to share the latest developments and practices in transition finance.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said Hong Kong aims to launch a roadmap this year to climate disclosures by adopting protocols set by the International Sustainability Standards Board.

The Securities and Futures Commission said it was very important for Hong Kong to follow international standards to boost investor confidence.

That came as the Hong Kong Monetary Authority released a one-stop information platform to enable small- and medium-sized enterprises to compare lending services offered by banks.

It provides information on major banks' dedicated SME service hotlines and their loan products such as trade financing, secured loans and unsecured overdrafts, said HKMA chief executive Eddie Yue Wai-man yesterday.

"We hope the platform can make it easier for SMEs to shop around so they can compare and choose among loan products offered and increase their bargaining power," he said, adding that some SMEs may be facing greater operating pressure amid a recent change in local consumer and tourist spending patterns.

A HKMA official also said that real-time monitoring had stopped US$2.3 million (HK$17.9 million) in funds from being deposited into fraudulent accounts over a period of five months after all retail banks were asked to implement it in September.