Bolsa Nacional de Valores (BNV) of Costa Rica has been an active member of the UN Sustainable Stock Exchanges initiative in its commitment to promote transparency and sustainability in Central America. In a role of leading initiatives from the capital market with the purpose of supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals, BNV is giving support for the approval of file 22.160, a law to promote financing and investment for sustainable development through the use of thematic public offering securities. According to Roberto Venegas, president of the BNV, “this law gives a boost to the thematic issuance market, an issue in which the Stock Exchange has taken the leadership at the national and Central American level, and with which we will continue to be strongly committed, as part of the contribution that our market intends to provide to economic progress, social and environmental of Costa Rica”. This new law will facilitate financing through the capital market of activities, works and projects aimed at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, the National Decarbonization Plan, the National Policy for Adaptation to Climate Change, the National Policy for Sustainable Production and Consumption, as well as any other public policy instrument that pursues the same objectives. Among the main aspects established by the new law are the following: - Tax credit for thematic issuers - Differentiated fees and procedures for the development of sustainable projects - Obligation of institutional investors to include sustainable investment within their investment policies - Express indication that public companies can be financed through thematic issues - Possibility that the financial regulator can make regulatory adjustments so that: SMEs can go to funding through thematic issues and Institutional investors allocate a % of investment to thematic issues This new law is a meaningful step for Costa Rica to advance in the transition towards a financial system more aligned with the sustainable development of the country. In this regard, the president of the BNV, Roberto Venegas, points out “This law establishes incentives for companies to develop projects that contribute to the decarbonization of the economy and the well-being of society in terms of health, education, access to housing, equality of gender, etc. In addition, it makes mandatory the incorporation of environmental, social and governance aspects known as responsible investment within the investment policies of institutional investors. This makes us the first country in Central America to take this important step." For more information, please write to comunicacion@bolsacr.com  

SSE Stock Exchange Database

To learn more, visit the SSE’s database of stock exchange sustainability activities. Currently, the database has data on 114 stock exchanges and tracks progress on key activities where exchanges are promoting sustainable business and investment practices. It is the largest data set of its kind and the data is freely accessible.