Hong Kong, Singapore race to become green finance hub

Hong Kong and Singapore are aiming to be the regional base for sustainable finance as governments and companies ramp up investments to fight climate change. That competition as pre-eminent finance hub for Asia is now shifting to the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) space, with potentially trillions of dollars at stake. Combined ESG assets could soar to USD53tr by 2025, with Asia sparking the next leg of growth. The race to attract all that fresh money and trading business in Asia will take years to play out; but so far, Singapore has an early edge over Hong Kong. Cherie Tam, senior manager in Hong Kong at Blunomy, a climate consulting firm, said Singapore knows that it might not be as established as Hong Kong as a financial hub; but if it manages to win in this area, it will really be a game changer.