The Rise of a Sleeping Giant: ESG in ASEAN

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In recent years, environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues have taken center stage in ASEAN, driven by greater awareness of climate change and the need for sustainable projects.

Governments, regulators, investors and corporates are turning their focus to green finance and impact investments. Recent data* shows that more than half of private equity deals across Southeast Asia now back business models that contribute to environmental and social progress. Furthermore, consumers and employees are increasingly expecting greater ESG accountability from companies.

Join us as we hear from a panel of experts on how different stakeholders across ASEAN can collectively accelerate the megatrend to create sustainable value for all. The panel discussion will highlight the importance of ESG, how governments and regulators are responding to this changing trend, how companies can integrate ESG practices into their strategy, and the role of banks in supporting clients to ride the ESG revolution.

*Source: Bain & Company, Sustainability Wins as Investors in Southeast Asia Shift Focus, 12 November 2019

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Speakers

Esther An

Chief Sustainability Officer at City Developments Limited

James Arnold

Head of Citi Hong Kong Global Subsidiaries Group, Banking, Capital Markets & Advisory; Co-Chair of Citi Asia Pacific Sustainability and Corporate Transitions Group at Citibank N.A., Singapore

Dale Hardcastle

Partner & Head of Energy & Natural Resources Practice in Southeast Asia at Bain & Company SE Asia, Inc.

Mervyn Tang

Senior Director; Global Head of ESG Research, Sustainable Finance at Fitch Ratings

Benedict Yap, CFA

Head of ESG at Lion Global Investors

An active advocate for green building and sustainability for over two decades, Esther has been instrumental in establishing CDL’s leadership in sustainability. It is ranked top real estate company on the 2020 Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World and is also the only CDP A-List company for climate strategy and water security in SE Asia. Key ESG initiatives she has spearheaded include publishing the first sustainability report in Singapore in 2008; issuing the first green bond by a Singaporean company in 2017 and pioneering an SDG Innovation Loan in Singapore in 2019. A forerunner in embracing the UN SDGs, Esther was conferred 2018 SDG Pioneer for Green Infrastructure and A Low Carbon Economy by the UN Global Compact. She was also recently appointed Chairperson of Asia Pacific Real Estate Association’s Sustainability and ESG Committee and Co-Chair of Urban Land Institute Singapore’s Sustainability Product Council.

James Arnold is the Hong Kong Head of Citi Global Subsidiaries Group, responsible for the bank’s multinational client relationships in the market.

Prior to his appointment in 2019, he was the Head of Citi Asia Pacific Bond Syndicate Desk, where he worked closely with the bank’s origination and sales teams to support clients on the execution of their bond transactions across the region. Before moving to Hong Kong, James was the Head of Bond Syndicate desk for Citi in Australia where he ran the Australian and New Zealand dollar bond syndicate function.

James is passionate about helping clients navigate the opportunities and challenges in the area of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) in the finance industry across the region. In 2020, James took on the additional role as the co-chair of Sustainability and Corporate Transitions for Citi in Asia Pacific.

James graduated with Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Murdoch University.

Dale Hardcastle is a partner in Bain & Company's Singapore office where he leads the firm’s Energy & Natural Resource practice in Southeast Asia with expertise in Sustainability and the Green Economy.

Dale has more than 20 years of experience in the global oil, gas and chemicals sector, working primarily in the Asia Pacific region. Over this time, he has advised a range of clients including super majors and leading national oil companies (NOCs) across a range of oil and gas sectors on topics such as strategy, M&A, organization and performance improvement, and operational excellence.

He has led several major engagements helping clients rethink their strategies in response to the new oil price environment, drive material improvements in commercial and operational excellence, build transformational capabilities and define M&A strategies for growth.

Prior to joining Bain, Dale spent nearly a decade helping to found and build Schlumberger's E&P consulting business across Asia.

He earned a bachelor's in economics from George Washington University.

Mervyn Tang is a Senior Director and Global Head of ESG Research in Fitch Ratings’ Sustainable Finance division, based in Hong Kong. Mervyn oversees a global research team of 5 which primarily focus on thematic and cross sector ESG research.

Mervyn re-joined Fitch Ratings in March 2019 from MSCI Inc., where he was Head of Fixed Income in their ESG Research department, based in Hong Kong. Mervyn has worked with fixed income investors globally supporting them on integrating ESG into their investment process. Prior to joining MSCI in 2017, Mervyn was a Director in Fitch’s Sovereign Group, with the Asia-Pacific team. Mervyn has also worked as an international economist at the Bank of England in London, a diplomat at the British Embassy in Washington DC, and an equities analyst at Citigroup.

Mervyn earned an MSc in Economics with distinction from Birkbeck College, University of London, and a BA in Economics and Management from Oxford University. He is a CFA Charterholder.

Benedict Yap is Head of ESG at Lion Global Investors.

Prior to joining Lion Global, Benedict had spent some seven years at Fullerton Fund Management, where he was a product specialist for Fullerton’s Equities and Alternatives capabilities. He was also appointed as Fullerton’s point person for Responsible Investing and ESG in 2016.

Before Fullerton, Benedict was a Senior Researcher at Mercer Investments where he was responsible for conducting investment due diligence on traditional Asian equity and fixed income managers, as well as Asian hedge fund managers. Prior to Mercer, Benedict was a hedge fund analyst at the EIM Group.

Benedict began his career in 2002 with Ernst & Young, where he was involved in macroeconomic/industry research and strategy, before moving to the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Benedict graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration with Honors from the National University of Singapore and he is a CFA charter holder.

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