November News Highlights
29 November 2018
This month includes news from Euronext, Deutsche Börse, BVP, Casablanca, JSE NSE, Nasdaq, LSEG, Malaysia, TISE, JPX, HKEX, B3, CSE, FCA, SCA, OSC, JICA and more. Monthly news highlights are compiled by the SSE to give an overview of the capital markets sustainability news from that month. You can subscribe to our monthly news highlights by clicking here.
SSE INITIATIVE NEWS & EVENTS
Euronext opens markets in Paris with a call for urgent action for sustainable finance 27 November 2018 Euronext opened financial markets on 27 November 2018 in support of the Climate Finance Week in Paris dedicated to delivering a sustainable financial system with the UNEP FI Global Roundtable and the 4th Climate Finance Day. Exchange in Focus: Panama exchange leads declaration to develop national sustainable financing roadmap Panama’s stock exchange (BVP), an SSE Partner Exchange, announced the creation of a working group on sustainable finance formed by the main financial sector actors in Panama, including the stock exchange, regulators, the ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Environment, insurers, investors and financial intermediaries. The objective of the group is to work collaboratively to address environmental, social and governance issues within the various activities of the Panamanian financial system. SSE partners provide substantial contribution at 2018 UNCTAD World Investment Forum October 2018 Twenty-two Partner Exchanges of the Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative participated in the 2018 UNCTAD World Investment Forum (WIF), the pre-eminent global platform for investment and development. The WIF 2018 brought together more than 6,000 attendees from across the world to engage in a dialogue on key issues related to investing for sustainable development. Event: Ring the Bell for Gender Equality March 2019 Stock exchanges are beginning to prepare for the 5th annual Ring the Bell for Gender Equality events to take place near or on International Women's Day (8 March 2019). If you would like to participate in one of the bell ringing ceremonies taking place worldwide or if your exchange would like to hold a bell ringing ceremony, contact the SSE or visit the web page here.WEBINARS AND EVENTS
Sustainable Blue Economy Conference 26-28 November 2018 | Nairobi, Kenya Kenya and its co-hosts Canada and Japan are inviting the world to Nairobi for the first global conference on the sustainable blue economy. The conference will capture concrete commitments and practical actions that can be taken today to help the world transition to the blue economy.CONSULTATIONS
FCA seeking comment on regulatory focus for climate change Due by 31 January 2019 The UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is seeking comment on areas of climate change and green finance that may require greater regulatory focus. Find a discussion paper the FCA published here.STOCK EXCHANGE NEWS
SET raises the bar for corporate sustainability disclosure practices 29 November 2018 In WFE's Focus article, the Stock Exchange of Thailand's (SET) President Mr. Pakorn Peetathawatchai discusses SET's sustainability strategy and activities. Bourse de Casablanca: Making finance work for humanity 29 November 2018 In WFE's Focus article, Bourse de Casablanca CEO Mr. Karim Hajji discusses how the exchange is contributing to the developing of CSR policies. ASEA working group facilitate SME financing 18 November 2018 The African Securities Exchanges Association's (ASEA) SME Facilitation Working group chaired by the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) issued a report on the attractiveness of exchanges as capital raising platforms for SMEs. 22nd African Securities Exchanges Conference: Africa’s ascension to a more sustainable future 27 November 2018 The 22nd ASEA Conference was held over two days in November in Lagos, hosted by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). The opening remarks were given by Mr. Oscar N. Onyema, CEO of the NSE. The theme of the conference was Champions on the Rise: Africa’s Ascension to a More Sustainable Future. Evan Harvey, Nasdaq: Next-Gen ESG - Going beyond the basics 27 November 2018 Nasdaq's Evan Harvey writes in CFI.co about sources of non-financial information. "We expect companies to disclose not only their carbon emissions, and the process whereby those emissions are tracked and trended, but also the emissions of their vendors and suppliers," Harvey writes. LSEG - ELITE launches in Lebanon ELITE is London Stock Exchange Group's international business support and capital raising initiative for private high-growth companies, which has signed a collaboration with Scale Up SAL in Lebanon. Bursa Malaysia expands incentives to reward good corporate governance practice and disclosure 23 November 2018 Bursa Malaysia has expanded its incentives under the Green Lane Policy (“GLP”) scheme as well as the pool of eligible listed companies (currently limited to the constituents of the FBMKLCI) to now include constituents of the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Top 100 Index. First launched on 29 August 2017, this expanded initiative now serves to enable a broader pool of companies with good standard of corporate governance conduct and disclosure practices to benefit from GLP privileges. Bursa Malaysia recognized a the 2nd ASEAN corporate governance award ceremony 22 November 2018 Bursa Malaysia was recognised in three award categories – “Top 3 Public Listed Companies (PLCs) in Malaysia”, “Top 50 ASEAN PLCs and “Top 5 ASEAN PLCs” – at the 2nd ASEAN Corporate Governance Awards Ceremony 2018 TISE launches green market segment 21 November 2018 The International Stock Exchange (TISE), based in Guernsey, has launched a new green market segment, TISE GREEN, to enhance the visibility of those investments which make a positive impact on the environment. TISE GREEN is open to all types of green investments, including bonds, funds and trading companies, from any jurisdiction. JPX welcomed Mark Carney for a discussion on promoting the FSB's TCFD 19 November 2018 Japan Exchange Group Inc. welcomed Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England and Chair of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), for a discussion on promoting the FSB's Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). HKEX publishes latest review of listed issuers’ corporate governance practices 16 November 2018 The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited has published the findings of its latest review of listed issuers' corporate governance practices and updated guidance material on environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting. The Review examined issuers’ corporate governance disclosures as well as their level of compliance with the Corporate Governance Code and Corporate Governance Report. Nigeria stock exchange issued sustainability disclosure guidelines 15 November 2018 The Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) issued its Sustainability Disclosure Guidelines following approval of the Nigerian Stock Exchange on the 9th day November 2018. The Guidelines are part of a phased project to integrate sustainability reporting for its listed companies. B3 offsets its greenhouse gas emissions for the 7th consecutive year 12 November 2018 B3 has offset 4,790 tons of CO2 equivalent for its 2017 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions not liable to be reduced, thus becoming a "carbon neutral" company for another year. Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) partners with GRI for corporate transparency and sustainability workshops 11 November 2018 The interactive workshops, which will be exclusive to representatives of companies listed on the CSE, will help participants discover the business case for embracing sustainable practices, while focusing on other topics such as monitoring and communicating sustainable performance effectively. Sustainability Accounting Standards Board industry-specific sustainability accounting standards launched in London at LSE 7 November 2018 In a ceremony at the London Stock Exchange, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) announced they have published the world’s first set of industry-specific sustainability accounting standards covering financially material issues. Covering 77 industries, the standards were approved on October 16, 2018, by a vote of the Standards Board after six years of research and extensive market consultation, including engagement with many of the world’s most prominent investors and businesses from all sectors. SASB also rang the bell at Nasdaq in New York alongside JetBlue to announce the new standards.REGULATOR NEWS
UAE's Securities and Commodities Authority holds consultation to finance pioneering enterprises through financial markets 27 November 2018 UAE's Securities and Commodities Authority (SCA) held a series of consultations with a number of leading government institutions to implement an initiative that aims to find innovative solutions to finance pioneering enterprises, such as creating channels through which such enterprises can access the capital markets operating in the country and make use of the financing methods available, given the role that these enterprises play in achieving sustainable development. Alberta Securities Commission launches initiative to facilitate access to capital for community economic development corporations 22 November 2018 The program is a product of the Investing in a Diversified Alberta Economy Act, which provides a tax credit to investors in businesses that have community economic development or social impact within their local community. Ontario Securities Commission announces new webinars for SMEs 6 November 2018 The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) is pleased to announce several new webinars for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The free webinars are offered through the ‘OSC SME Institute,’ which helps SMEs understand and navigate the requirements of being or becoming a public company in Ontario. JICA to help Vietnam improve stock market’s fairness and transparency 6 November 2018 The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will carry out a project to help Vietnam improve the fairness and transparency of its stock market, according to a document on the November 5 meeting between the agency and the State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC) discussing the project.ESG INDICES AND PRODUCTS
B3 Announces the 14th ISE Corporate Sustainability Index Portfolio 30 November 2018 B3 announced today the release of the fourteenth Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE) portfolio, effective from January 7, 2019 to January 3, 2020. The new ISE portfolio, whose technical partner since its inception is the Center for Sustainability Studies at the Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGVces), comprises 35 stocks from 30 companies. B3 offers opportunity to identify green bonds 27 November 2018 B3 is now giving greater visibility to green bonds in its systems. Listed companies whose securities are certified as green bonds will be given the possibility of identifying their securities as such by B3. The initiative is in line with the B3's strategy to develop the Brazilian capital markets and further its sustainability agenda. STOXX introduces ESG-X version Of STOXX Europe 600 Index 21 November 2018 STOXX Ltd., the operator of Deutsche Boerse Group’s index business and a global provider of innovative and tradable index concepts, has launched the STOXX® Europe 600 ESG-X Index. The index was developed based on feedback of asset owners, in order to accommodate their need for a version of Europe’s key benchmark that is in line with the exclusion criteria of their responsible-investing policy. New Green Bond ETF launched 16 November 2018 The universe of fixed income exchange traded funds following socially responsible investing principles gained another member Thursday when BlackRock Inc. launched an ETF dedicated to green bonds. Industrial Bank of China (CIB) and Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) establish cooperation in the green bond debt market 14 November 2018 A Ring the Bell ceremony related to the listing of the first international green bond of CIB has taken place at the Luxembourg Stock Exchange as this green bond of CIB will be displayed as of next week on the Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX) – a platform limited to sustainable securities of highest transparency levels. New Green Bond segment launched on Frankfurt Stock Exchange 12 November 2018 Deutsche Börse has launched a new segment for green bonds on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It currently includes about 150 bonds that comply with the Green Bond Principles of the International Capital Markets Association.MANAGEMENT NEWS
Euronext appoints Isabel Ucha as CEO of Euronext Lisbon and Interbolsa 28 November 2018 Euronext's Supervisory Board has nominated Isabel Ucha as CEO of Euronext Lisbon, CEO of Interbolsa and member of the Managing Board of Euronext N.V., starting 1 January 2019.About the SSE
The SSE initiative is a UN Partnership Programme organised by UNCTAD, the UN Global Compact, UNEP FI and the PRI. The SSE’s mission is to provide a global platform for exploring how exchanges, in collaboration with investors, companies (issuers), regulators, policymakers and relevant international organizations, can enhance performance on ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) issues and encourage sustainable investment, including the financing of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The SSE seeks to achieve this mission through an integrated programme of conducting evidence-based policy analysis, facilitating a network and forum for multi-stakeholder consensus-building, and providing technical assistance and advisory services.
Share post:
