BEIJING, CHINA / ACCESSWIRE / December 14, 2020 / 2020 China SIF Week & The 8th China SIF Annual Conference was grandly held at Grand Hyatt Beijing Hotel on December 1, 2020, with the theme of "ESG Moving into Mainstream-Risks and Opportunities of ESG Investing in China".
Co-organized by SynTao Green Finance and Sina Finance, this event invited Chinese and foreign regulators, financial institutions, experts, scholars, industrial representatives, and stakeholders to jointly explore the development path of ESG investing. Zengtao WU, Chief Marketing Officer of Southern Asset Management, attended and delivered a keynote speech at the conference.
"The global average temperature is now 1.1 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial period and is likely to rise by 1.5 degrees Celsius between 2030 and 2052, according to a report by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This will irreversibly undermine the natural environment, ecological system, human health and all the other aspects, and turn into a serious impediment to the sustainable development process of mankind," Mr. Zengtao WU told.
As the 14th Five-Year Plan recently released by the Chinese government not only proposes to deeply implement the sustainable development strategy and improve the overall planning and coordination mechanism for ecological advancement but also makes it clear the need to develop an action plan for having CO2 emissions peak before 2030, Southern Asset Management attaches great importance to the various negative impacts of emissions on the environment and officially signed the Climate Action 100+ in July 2020). The Climate Action 100+ is an investor initiative to ensure the world's 161 largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters take necessary actions on climate change, make commitments on emission reduction, work out action plans, improve governance and strengthen climate-related financial disclosures.
"Climate change risks may have an impact on investment portfolios and the stability of the global financial system. Southern Asset Management is already facilitating the assessment of physical and transition risks that listed companies face amid climate change under the framework of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure and analyze portfolio risks under different scenarios. While recognizing the risks possibly brought about by climate change to the financial system, we should also become aware of the policy-driven economic model shifts and potential investment opportunities during going-green and in a long-term low-carbon society. China has recently vowed to achieve carbon neutrality ahead of 2060. To realize this goal, a recent study released by the Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development (ICCSD) of Tsinghua University estimates that new investment in the energy system alone in the next 30 years should reach about RMB138 trillion, or more than 2.5% of annual GDP, which will boost related industries, including environmental protection, new energy and energy efficiency gain, over a long period of time," he added.
The Southern Asset Management has already begun to plan for green transformation and sustainable development investment possibilities. In 2020, the company forged a partnership with New Energy Nexus to jointly promote clean energy applications and ESG investment concepts in a bid to accelerate the process of clean energy replacement and address climate change risks.
In addition to focusing on climate change and environmental protection issues, Southern Asset Management is also exploring and practicing the localization and integration of ESG. Specifically, on the principles of internationalization, specialization and differentiation, we strive to put ESG into practice in the following five aspects.
"ESG philosophy involves all aspects of our company, including resource input, process and policy building, assessment and incentives. Our company has established an ESG Executive Committee and four execute groups. The CEO serves as the leader of the ESG Executive Committee. The four senior executives promote the implementation of ESG in the business lines of equity, fixed income, products, and risk control. Secondly, we are also promoting the integration of ESG investing. Southern Asset Management has achieved ESG rating coverage for 3,963 listed companies and 3,479 credit debt subjects, a total of 7,442 investment objects. At the same time, a data-sharing platform for researchers and fund managers was established internally to enable fund managers to fully consider relevant ESG information throughout the investment decision-making process," Mr. Zengtao WU informed the press here in Beijing.
"Through active engagement with the management teams of listed companies, we could advocate and urge them to pay more attention to ESG issues in their daily operations and management. We are now building a full range of ESG product line. Southern Asset Management launched the first ESG-themed equity fund in December 2019 and is now actively developing other related fund products. We are committed to offering a leading ESG brand. For a long time, Southern Asset Management has actively participated in media and association activities, spreading and sharing ESG investing philosophy and calling on the whole industry to jointly act upon this philosophy in practice," he stated while finishing his keynote speech at the event.
Southern Asset Management has found a high correlation between the long-term yield performance of fund products and the ESG rating of the investment objects. As putting ESG investing into practice requires a combination of knowledge and unremitting efforts, Southern Asset Management looks to engage more institutions for making ESG investing a positive driving force for good ecology, harmonious society, and economic development.
About The Company
On March 6th, 1998, China Southern Asset Management Co., Ltd. ("Southern Asset Management") was officially established as one of the first domestic asset management companies approved and regulated by the China Securities Regulatory Commission ("CSRC"), which symbolizes the start of our nation's "New Golden Era for Funds".
Southern Asset Management has stood the tests of time throughout periodic shifts between bull and bear market in Chinese capital market. By showing stable and sustainable performances and providing improved and professional services, Southern Asset Management managed to continuously build the trust and recognition of a wide range of investors, including mutual fund investors, corporate annuity clients and high-net-worth clients.
Southern Asset Management has grown into one of the industry leaders that boasts a diverse range of products, comprehensive type of business activities, exceptional investment performance and a large scale of assets under management. As of March 31st, 2020, Southern Asset Management and its subsidiaries have a scale of combined assets under management (AUM) that totaled USD 160.8 billion.
CONTACT:
China Southern Asset Management
Si Chen
0755-82763742
[email protected]
http://www.southernfund.com/en/
SOURCE: China Southern Asset Management