KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 21): It is paramount for financial institutions to connect stakeholders to work together in setting appropriate standards to develop a sustainable finance roadmap, concurred panellists at the one-day conference “Developing and Financing Green Housing in Asia” organized by Cagamas Bhd.
“Maybank has actually been on a sustainability journey for more than a decade but in the last two years, we have regrouped and refreshed our purpose as a financial institution, given that we know we have the power to move capital away from harm to a positive social development” said Maybank’s chief sustainability officer Shahril Azuar Jimin during a panel session titled “Innovation in Green Home Financing” at the conference on Wednesday (Sept 21).
Shahril added that Maybank also aims to provide RM50 billion of sustainable financing by 2025 under its long-term sustainability initiative.
Gladys Chua, head of sustainability at RAM Holdings Bhd’s unit RAM Sustainability Sdn Bhd, said that the rating agency is one of the first few climate bond verifiers in the Asean market.
“We provide confidence to investors to put their money in a particular portfolio. What we look at is the certification level. Locally, we do have our Green RE for green building rating, so that is one basis we look at, with regards to standards for green home financing,” said Chua.
Earlier in his welcoming remarks, Cagamas chairman Datuk Bakarudin Ishak said as a national mortgage corporation, the agency has been promoting the broader spread of homeownership, while contributing to the growth of the bond and sukuk market through its issuances.
To date, Cagamas has issued cumulatively RM1.7 billion worth of sustainability-related bonds and sukuk.
Cagamas is firmly committed to doing its part to ensure that finance works for sustainable development and looks forward to advancing the development of sustainability-related instruments, both conventional and Islamic, to deepen market liquidity for green bonds, Bakarudin added.
Meanwhile, Cagamas is embarking on building blocks to ensure that it will have more supply of green-certified houses in the future, according to its president cum chief executive officer Datuk Chung Chee Leong.
“There will be provision of more mortgages, as well as more green bonds and sukuk,” he said in his closing remarks at the conference
The conference brought together participants across Asia, including investors, financial regulators, policymakers, developers and representatives from corporations.
It offered a unique opportunity for the private and public sectors to exchange views, as well as to discuss current initiatives and priorities so as to further strengthen their capacity in developing and financing the green housing agenda.
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Collaboration from all stakeholders needed to make affordable and green houses accessible