The Green and Sustainable Finance Cross-Agency Steering Group welcomes the launch of Core Climate, the international carbon marketplace “set up by the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX).”
Core Climate will “provide effective and transparent trading of voluntary carbon credits and instruments across Asia and beyond to connect capital with climate-related products and opportunities.”
This is considered to be “a major milestone following the publication of the Steering Group’s Preliminary Feasibility Assessment of Carbon Market Opportunities for Hong Kong in March this year, which supports Hong Kong to develop a global, high quality voluntary carbon market, and foster cooperation with the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Mainland.”
The Steering Group will “continue to work closely with all stakeholders to take further actions together in developing carbon market for a more sustainable future.”
Established in May 2020, the Steering Group is “co-chaired by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Securities and Futures Commission.”
Members reportedly “include the Environment and Ecology Bureau, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau, HKEX, the Insurance Authority and the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority.”
The Steering Group aims “to coordinate the management of climate and environmental risks to the financial sector, accelerate the growth of green and sustainable finance in Hong Kong and support the Government’s climate strategies.”
In another update shared by HKMA, it was noted that The Bank for International Settlements published “the results of the 2022 Triennial Survey of Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Market Turnover.”
The results of the survey “have reaffirmed Hong Kong’s position as a major international financial center.” Hong Kong continued “to be the fourth largest global foreign exchange market, the third largest over-the-counter (OTC) interest rate derivatives market and the top global offshore Renminbi business hub.”
The survey was “compiled based on the turnover data in April 2022, when Hong Kong was going through the fifth wave of COVID-19 infections.”
Notwithstanding the adverse impact of the pandemic on economic activities, Hong Kong still registered “a notable growth in foreign exchange and derivatives market activities compared to three years ago.”
For more details on this update, check here.
