The HK Green Finance Association Turns 5! A Conversation with Tsun Chen, the New SecGen, on its Past & Future

By Tsun Chen 20 October, 2023

How has the HKGFA shaped green finance in HK? How does it work with the GBA? What's next? We speak with Chen, Secretary General of HKGFA

HKGFA members have grown from 50 in 2018 to >160 now; mirrors the broadening green finance landscape & increased ESG awareness; but much work remains
While guiding conversations & developing trainings in HK, HKGFA is also working with GBA; HK’s expertise complements the Mainland’s capacity, creating a potent collab
HKGFA prioritizes impactful sectors like real estate but also looking at tech & insurance; plus, see why Chen made the jump after 20 years in mainstream to green finance
Author: Tsun Chen
Secretary General, Hong Kong Green Finance Association Tsun has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining HKGFA, he worked for a number of corporate finance advisory firms and a specialist bank where he was responsible for cross-border mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings, debt and equity restructurings and direct investments. Tsun is a qualified solicitor in England & Wales (non-practising), holds a BSc. in History and Philosophy of Science from University College London and is certified by the CFA in ESG Investing.
Read more from Tsun Chen →

The Hong Kong Green Finance Association (HKGFA) was launched at the 1st HKGFA Annual Forum in September 2018. With the 6th Annual Forum marking HKGFA’s 5th year anniversary this year, our director Debra Tan sat down with Tsun Chen, the new Secretary General of the HKGFA to talk about how far they have come and the direction ahead.

CWR: As one of the 50 founding members of the Hong Kong Green Finance Association (HKGFA), we remember back when HKGFA was launched. Five years is “a long time” in green finance which is evolving rapidly, can you walk us through some changes in this landscape? How far has green finance come along in HK? 

Tsun Chen (TC): Firstly, thank you for CWR’s continued support and for being such a good friend of the HKGFA. In the last five years, we have grown from 50 initial members to over 160 so CWR can definitely count itself as one of the pioneers.

The HKGFA was conceived when Dr. Ma Jun, our Chairman and President was approached by the then Chief Executive of Hong Kong in 2018 on how to position Hong Kong as a leading green finance hub. At the time, green finance was still a relatively niche area. With the support of the convening partners, such as yourselves, we were able to establish a deep and broad pool of sustainable finance expertise and representatives of the green ecosystem, spearheading strategic initiatives is Chaoni Huang, Secretary General and Tracy Harris Wong, Deputy-Secretary General both of whom have done an incredible job of driving this forward.

HKGFA launched in 2018 with 50 members, now there are >160…

So, five years later, we are still going strong and have built a very solid team and foundation for the future.

I personally feel very lucky to join at the time that I have because of the team, especially with Jenny Lee, Under Secretary General and Phoebe Liu, Senior Associate, who have been superb in working with our members on a day-to-day basis and doing much of the heavy lifting.

So, in spite of our lean size (we have grown from two to six), the organisation has come a long way and achieved a huge amount. All of this, of course, would not have been possible without the concerted efforts of our members, which I think sums up what HKGFA does best, taking ideas and coordinating with the market to produce something greater than the sum of its parts.

…HKGA’s growth mirrors the broadening green finance landscape & increased ESG awareness; but much work remains

Our growth as an association reflects the growth in the overall green finance landscape and collaboration. Perhaps the most remarkable difference today from 2018 is how much more awareness there is of ESG and sustainability issues. It’s more of a feature now than a niche. The knowledge is deeper, the number of practitioners is greater and overall, we are moving in the right direction.

There is still much to be done and the pace needs to quicken but there has been greater refinement in strategic thinking, planning and focus within the broad green finance market. The intent and action of practitioners is certainly much sharper.

CWR: We are sure there have been many achievements but what would you say has been HKGFA’s top 3?

(TC): Growing the association to this current point where we can truly say we have a voice in green finance initiatives and activities in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area (GBA) is a something which the whole team can take pride in. We have now held six annual forums, with the latest our largest to date, drawing in over 500 physical attendees, 1,000 online and over 150,000 views on Sina Live Finance and on top of this, we have held or co-branded around 120 events in the last 12 months alone.

“…we have a voice in green finance initiatives & activities in HK & GBA…”

Another achievement worth mentioning is the successful launch of the two Certificate in Sustainable Finance programs in 2022, together with HKUST and HKFSI in English and Mandarin, training over 200 professionals. These are both recognised as an eligible program provider under the Pilot Green and Sustainable Finance Capacity Building Support scheme and also HKMA’s banking practitioners enhanced competency framework for Sustainable Finance, module two. Participants are also eligible for CPT and CPD.

Another achievement is the recognition of HKGFA’s Sustainable Finance programs with CPT & CPD eligibility

And finally perhaps the work we have done on the Common Ground Taxonomy (CGT), where we just launched the third phase of our research on the Common Ground Taxonomy this month which focuses on how to operationalize the CGT. This has been critical work and we believe that the adoption of this will really help drive greater cross-border transactions.

CWR: In 2019, the HKGFA hosted “Fast Tracking Green Finance for the Greater Bay Area”, the first conference to promote green finance across the GBA. What is HKGFA or HK’s role in regional collaboration? How do you work with the other green finance associations in the mainland?

(TC): Our objectives in working with the GBA are to foster closer integration and regulatory cooperation on sustainable finance development, harmonisation of standards and act as a connector for green investment across the GBA. In 2022/23 we held the presidency of the Greater Bay Area Green Finance Alliance (GBA-GFA) and led the policy dialogue to strengthen sustainable finance collaborations across the GBA.

In 2022/23 held the presidency of the Greater Bay Area Green Finance Alliance…

On the Hong Kong side, this was co-hosted with the Securities and Futures Commission, Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. On the GBA side, the meetings were attended by, among others, the Shenzhen Municipal Financial Regulatory Bureau, the Guangdong Financial Supervisory Authority, the Monetary Authority of Macao, etc. So, we are working with all the relevant counterparties in the area.

Similar to the HKGFA, the GBA-GFA operates through working groups, seven in this case, with the latest edition being the GBA Technology Working Group which aims to develop an eco-system to support and finance green technologies and help launch greentech accelerators which will benefit start-ups across the region. Working with the Guangdong Green Finance Committee on phase 3 of the CGT report is an example of how we have worked with our Mainland counterparts to co-ordinate and push joint research to further the dialogue and understanding both within the GBA and beyond.

…Hong Kong’s expertise complements the Mainland’s capacity, creating a potent collaboration

We see our role representing Hong Kong as critical because of the unique areas of expertise that we possess. In some ways, we have the software here, with the knowledge, expertise and broad international access, whilst in the Mainland, they have the hardware, the ability and scalability to action real change.

When you combine the Mainland size and drive and Hong Kong’s native expertise in finance, collaboration, international presence, etc. it really is a potent combination.

CWR: HKGFA has led the conversation in green finance for the real estate sector, an emissions heavy sector for Hong Kong. How’s the traction on this? What other emissions heavy sectors will HKGFA support in HK, GBA or beyond?

(TC): I like to think there has been good movement in the real estate sector. The large developers appear to have embraced sustainability and seem to be implementing this into their business and practices. The challenges come from the broader market, the smaller developers and also SME asset owners. Retrofitting is a big opportunity but the urgency is still lacking. Part of this may be a lack of education and part of it may be lack of incentives and/or capital.

Thankfully, earlier this month we saw the launch of the Zero-Carbon-Ready Building Certification Scheme by the Green Building Council, a practical tool for building owners to evaluate the performance of their buildings and track their pathway to carbon neutrality. However, incentives and capital remain the higher hanging fruits which still need to flow in order to push this further.

Real estate sector is important for HK…

…but we are also looking at other sectors like tech & insurance that need attention

The real estate sector is an important one for Hong Kong which is why it has its own working group within HKGFA. In general, however, we don’t look at sectors from an emissions perspective. We tend to consider where we can have the most impact or where engagement is most needed so that we can support with the assembling of voices or leadership.

Under our other working groups we may look at a few other sectors such as tech or insurance and we may in the near future look at other sectors for deeper research, analysis or focus. I know that tech and shipping are two areas which we have discussed as industries that require greater attention. The financing and adoption of green technology and green fintech solutions is critical in achieving net-zero, and CWR’s ICT report is timely as companies will be required to capture Scope 3 emissions and “greening” the ICT sector can accelerate the decarbonization process.

CWR: Thank you for our ICT report shout out – we will certainly be looking to cooperate with HKGFA on supporting ICT transition! Back to the questions …

HKGFA working groups are mainly focused on transition finance but at CWR, we are also worried that adaptation financing as well as adaptation efforts are not keeping pace with climate risks. As escalating climate risks will only widen the adaptation gap, will HKGFA expand into this area in the future? Can HK play a role in closing the adaptation finance gap? For context, UNEP expects adaptation financing to roughly double to US$315- 565bn per year by 2050 but as of 2020, only US$29bn was raised…

(TC): The theme of our Annual Forum this year was transition finance and in one of the sessions the key question of, how do you define transition finance, was raised. As with so many of the issues in sustainability, there is this terminology or taxonomy challenge but as far as transition vs adaption finance, I like to think that we can take a broader view such that transition finance also incorporates adaptation financing. I understand that this may seem like a gross oversimplification but as we grapple with the issues which come at us, our thinking and action will become more refined.

“I like to think that we can take a broader view such that transition finance also incorporates adaptation financing.”

In his opening speech, our Chairman, Dr. Ma Jun mentioned how transition financing will exceed green financing. A few years back I think everything was categorised under broad singular terms such as green finance and now we have transition as well as adaption financing. As the nuances evolve and as practitioners upskill, we will find that they require more specialised approaches, so what was once a broad green finance one, becomes a more tailored issue whether that is energy, biodiversity, waste or water. And within those specific areas, we will address them individually as transition or adaptation measures.

CWR: Tell us why did you transition from mainstream to green finance? And why you are excited about the space?

(TC): My transition to green finance is thanks in large part to CWR. After around 20 years in finance, I was looking into the ESG space when in 2021 I was attending the HKEx Green Asia Summit on which CWR was a panelist. You presented your maps on what Hong Kong would look like at 5m sea level rise and it scared the hell out of me. So motivated by this newfound fear I threw myself into it.

“My transition to green finance is thanks in large part to you.

…You presented your maps on what Hong Kong would look like at 5m sea level rise and it scared the hell out of me.”

 

When you consider all the potential climate catastrophes on the horizon and the pace at which the world is moving to address them, there is a lot to be concerned or depressed about. It throws up so many intellectual, philosophical, socio-economic challenges and that’s what makes it so interesting for me. The problem is so vast and requires such immense financial and human capital, but we only have limited time and resources, so it becomes an allocation issue and how we can best do this. That to me is fascinating.

Further readings

More on Latest

«
»
Related Posts