New association in Singapore to focus on developing talent, industry standards in sustainable finance
The new Singapore Sustainable Finance Association can contribute to talent upskilling and capacity building initiatives by providing guidance on the relevance of courses offered, says MAS.
The Singapore Sustainable Finance Association (SSFA) was launched on Jan 24, 2024, as the "first cross-sectoral industry body" supporting the development of Singapore as a leading global centre for sustainable finance. (Photo: CNA/Tang See Kit)
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SINGAPORE: A new association launched in Singapore on Wednesday (Jan 24) will help to develop the local talent pool, industry standards and financing solutions required in sustainable finance.
Sustainable finance is a "key thrust" of Singapore’s position as a financial hub, with the country having made a good start with various initiatives over the past years, said Mr Chia Der Jiun, the new managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
Being one of the leading sustainable finance centres serving the net-zero transition needs in Asia and beyond, Singapore can contribute further to these three areas. The newly launched Singapore Sustainable Finance Association (SSFA) will play a key role, he added.
For example, the SSFA can contribute to talent upskilling and capacity building initiatives by providing guidance on the relevance of sustainable finance courses offered currently, said Mr Chia.
The association can also promote the take-up of skills certification schemes and organise workshops in areas not readily offered by the training providers. These include areas such as carbon markets, taxonomy application and blended finance.
Mr Chia, who was making his first public engagement since taking over the helm at the Singapore central bank from Mr Ravi Menon on Jan 1, said the MAS, the Institute of Banking and Finance and Workforce Singapore have embarked on a jobs transformation map to study the impact of sustainability on the local financial sector workforce.
“Preliminary findings suggest that most of the jobs in the sector will be augmented by upskilling to support changes in regulations, products and processes to better serve their clients. In addition, new and highly specialised roles such as sustainability risk analysts, will be created,” he said.
More detailed findings and initiatives to support the sector’s upskilling will be announced in April.
Meanwhile, the SSFA can take the lead in developing industry best practices in areas such as the trading of carbon credits and transition finance.
Having clear and credible standards can mitigate the risk of greenwashing and provide more confidence for capital to be channelled to legitimate green and transition activities, said Mr Chia.
In the area of financing, the association can bring together different players, not just those in the financial space, to “identify more integrated approaches” to address the barriers in financing.
For one, it can combine financing solutions from different asset classes, including risk mitigation tools, to improve the bankability of projects. Mr Chia noted that this applies not only in climate mitigation, but also in financing less bankable projects related to climate adaptation and biodiversity preservation.
In a press release, the SSFA said it will work towards driving the development of a sustainable finance ecosystem and promote best sustainable finance practices in Singapore.
It will also facilitate collaboration between the financial and non-financial sectors for sustainable finance to support the low carbon transition and sustainable economic growth of Singapore and the region, among other objectives.
The SSFA will be co-chaired in its first term by BlackRock’s Singapore country head and regional head of Southeast Asia Deborah Ho and HSBC Singapore’s chief executive officer Wong Kee Joo.
The executive committee also includes 19 other members, comprising MAS’ chief sustainability officer Gillian Tan, Association of Banks in Singapore’s director Ong-Ang Ai Boon, C-suite representatives from financial firms, non-financial sector corporates and academia.
At the first executive committee meeting on Wednesday, the SSFA said it has formalised its governance structure and laid out its workplan for the year.
This includes the establishment of workstreams to focus on five key areas, namely carbon markets, transition finance, blended finance, natural capital and biodiversity, and taxonomy.
