Chair’s Opening Remarks

Opening Keynote Address

Innovation in the Asian market

• Harnessing innovation in the market to expand the investor base
• What is the role of the regulators?
• Strengthening regional and international collaboration

Presentation: Sovereign bond issuance in Asia

• Transition challenges and Singapore's first sovereign bond issuance
• Do the SDGs affect sovereign bond spreads?

Panel: Are sustainability-linked loans raising or lowering the bar for ESG issuance?

• What are the advantages and constraints of Sustainability Linked Loans?
• What are investors looking for in transparency: what are the challenges and how are targets set?
• What does best practice look like?

Panel: Corporates’ transition on the journey to net zero

• How do Asian issuers demonstrate their ESG strategy?
• Considering company assets at risk and mitigation strategies over the long term
• New technologies? New business models?
• Are the bond markets a way for corporates to action and finance their transition strategies?
• Preparing for climate disclosure in Asia
• What resources (e.g., people, processes, technologies) would the company need to meet the proposed reporting deadlines?
• How does the company evaluate the materiality of climate-related disclosures across regions?

Panel: Standardisation in Impact reporting

• What is the objective of impact reporting and how are metrics decided?
• Are investor expectations of issuers' impact reports shifting?
• What are the main challenges to impact reporting?

Panel: ESG data

• How good is ESG data for the Asian fixed income market?
• What are investors doing to generate their own data?
• Improving data for sovereigns

Panel: Bondholder engagement

• Setting clear paths to escalate engagement and measuring ESG outcomes
• How do GSS principles enable investors to engage with issuers?
• How can bond investors and use of proceeds stimulate discussions around the Paris agreement and the SDGs?
• What is holding bondholders back from being more proactive in this regard?
• How can issuers facilitate engagement?
• Does it drive motivation to issue?

Panel: The continued rise of sustainable finance in Asia

• What factors will drive the increase of sustainable bond issuance for the future?
• How important are transition bonds in the future of sustainable finance in Asia?
• Is the "S" in ESG ready for a breakout year in 2023 for Sustainability-Linked Loans?
• Is the range of social factors within ESG expanding and how will this effect sustainability strategies for issuers and investors in Asia?
• How will this effect reporting, regulation, rating, and risk?
• How are investors and other market participants assessing ESG and sustainability risks and opportunities?
• Greenwashing – what do investors want to see?

Closing remarks and close of conference