Can Singapore be an Asian hub for green finance?
Green finance could stimulate further clean energy investment in Asia Pacific, but which country will emerge as the region’s green finance hub? The Straits Times shares more.
Asia Pacific secured US$135 billion of clean energy investment in 2016, leading all other regions for the fifth consecutive year. In the renewables space, three of the world’s top five investors are in Asia Pacific – namely China, Japan and India.
This is only the start. Setting up market instruments and policy tools to fund public and private investments that contribute to sustainability – broadly known as ‘green financing’ – will set the stage for further growth.
The current global market for green finance is estimated at US$80 billion, with Asia Pacific holding vast potential for a rapid take-off, according to Lawrence Loh, director of the Centre for Governance, Institutions and Organisations at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School. Southeast Asia in particular could drive green finance, given its robust economic growth projections.
In this region, Singapore is well-positioned to offer a lever to advance green growth. World Bank Vice President and Treasurer Arunma Oteh stated that the country has the right approach to green finance, and Loh added that this could place Singapore for eventual leadership in Asia.
Read more on Loh’s views regarding the other green finance players in Asia and Singapore’s readiness to be the region’s green financing hub, in this contributed piece to The Straits Times.
By: The Straits Times