Bond issuers are urged to make ambitious commitments and follow through with concrete efforts to transition to sustainable practices as ESG moves front and centre.
In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, many governments globally are looking at infrastructure investment as a key driver of economic growth in coming years. While China’s economy has recovered relatively well compared to other nations, the government is once again looking at infrastructure investment as a pillar for economic growth.
On 21 October 2020, Lianhe Global participated in the “2nd China Fixed Income Summit” organized by FinanceAsia. During the virtual event, Dr. Stan Ho, the Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director and Responsible Officer of Lianhe Global, participated in a one-on-one Q&A session with Iain Bell, Head of Events Programming.
Growing ties between Russian and Chinese companies have led to a need for new financing capabilities from banking partners. As the only Russian bank with a full banking license in China, VTB Bank is well-positioned to assist. FinanceAsia spoke with Yuri Soloviev, First Deputy President and Chairman of VTB, about the bank’s plans for the future.
Contracted sales of Chinese property developers have largely recovered since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. Nationwide monthly sales declined by up to 35% at the pandemic’s peak in February 2020 when the government ordered most sales offices to shut, but have since rebounded. Monthly sales growth turned positive in year-on-year terms since May 2020, and cumulative nationwide contracted sales up to September 2020 were 6% higher than in the same period in 2019.
Capital markets in China remain underdeveloped when compared with global peers, despite rapid progress over the last decade. Heavy reliance on indirect finance, evolving regulatory and legal frameworks, and visible government interventions highlight capital markets' weakness in terms of depth and breadth. Fitch Ratings believes ongoing regulatory reforms could strengthen the capital markets framework and thus sustain further development, improving financial system stability and capital mobility.
A roundtable hosted by ANZ and FinanceAsia highlighted emerging opportunities in an ever-wider variety of energy infrastructure projects across the region, led by an increasing focus on renewables amid the mantra of sustainability.
Increasing infrastructure capacity in Australia relies on improvements to the procurement process that will, in turn, foster innovation and best practice, said experts at a roundtable hosted by ANZ and FinanceAsia. More risk sharing and a greater focus on sustainability are among key goals.
