ASEAN Exchanges, a collaboration among six stock exchanges in the ASEAN region, jointly established internally aligned governance sustainability metrics at its 36th ASEAN Exchanges CEO meeting this month.
Hosted by the Stock Exchange of Thailand, the meeting saw the joint implementation of 10 governance metrics which will complement previously announced metrics on environmental and social issues. They are also expected to aid in bolstering sustainable investment across the region.
Notably, the meeting included representatives from the Cambodia Stock Exchange and Lao Securities Exchange, neither of whom are currently members of ASEAN Exchanges.
“ESG issues have gained prominence at the global level and serve as key factors for investors when making investment decisions. The ASEAN Exchanges common ESG metrics therefore provide a guidepost for our companies in reaching international investors and facilitating capital flows into the region,” Pakorn Peetathawatchai, the president of the Stock Exchange of Thailand, remarked.
The common ESG metrics will serve as a basis for member stock exchanges, namely Bursa Malaysia, the Indonesia Stock Exchange, the Philippine Stock Exchange, the Singapore Exchange, the Stock Exchange of Thailand and the Vietnam Exchange, to build upon in order to drive sustainability among their listed companies.
According to Pakorn, the CEOs of the ASEAN stock exchanges also discussed how to further promote cross-border products and build on the complementarity of the exchanges to enhance their visibility to international investors.
The stock exchanges are working together closely to explore further ways to enhance products and regional promotions.
The CEOs also recognized the complementarity of ASEAN Exchanges and the potential from market connectivity opportunities through depository receipts cooperation.
ASEAN Exchanges has worked on a number of sustainability efforts since the establishment of its ESG Working Group in 2021.
In addition to setting common ESG metrics, the working group published a comparative table of ASEAN exchanges’ sustainability reporting regimes in March last year to help investors understand the reporting structures and approaches adopted by the member exchanges.