'Tighter disclosure rules will boost HK's status'

A partner at international law firm Stephenson Harwood said she believes the government's latest plan to align local sustainability disclosure requirements with international standards will further consolidate Hong Kong's role as a green finance hub. Penelope Shen made the comment after local officials issued a vision statement on developing a sustainability disclosure ecosystem, by being one of the first jurisdictions to align local climate-related disclosure requirements with the International Financial Reporting Standards - Sustainability Disclosure Standards (ISSB Standards). Shen told RTHK’s Hong Kong Today programme that the move is very much welcomed as it is important for the SAR to stay up to date with international trends in sustainable finance to remain competitive. “More than one third of Asia’s green and sustainable bond issuance are raised in Hong Kong and there are currently over 200 ESG (environmental, social and governance) funds that have been authorised by the SFC (Securities and Futures Commission) as at September 2023… so Hong Kong is definitely leading the game,” she said. The legal expert added that authorities are working towards putting in a place a stringent monitoring and regulation mechanism to combat greenwashing, where companies make false or misleading claims to make people believe that they are doing more to protect the environment than they really are.