Rising ESG concern drives push for sustainable financing in Middle East: HSBC survey

Rising ESG concern drives push for sustainable financing in Middle East: HSBC survey

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues have become almost universal concerns of major issuers of capital markets securities in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey region, according to the findings of an annual survey by HSBC.

A full 97% of issuers in the region who responded to the HSBC 2021 Sustainable Finance and Investing Survey said they had increased the attention that they pay to environmental and social issues over the past year.

And in one of the starkest findings of the survey, 45% of issuers said that they were already seeing the impact of climate change on their business or activities – up from just 7% a year ago.

Gareth Thomas, Regional Head of Global Banking for HSBC in MENAT, said: “The survey results reflect what we are seeing on the ground, that issuers and investors are valuing sustainable finance. The green agenda is here to stay and sustainable finance is pivotal to safeguarding the future of our planet. It is imperative that both investors and issuers in the Middle East continue to engage on the topic to better understand how they can capture the economic as well as environmental and social benefits.”