Hong Kong/Washington, D.C.--The Association of Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asia (ASrIA) released today a series of reports offering investors guidance on adding critical new areas for value creation and risk into analysis of Asian businesses across eight sectors. The reports, funded by the International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, focus on the following sectors: automobiles; banking; metals and mining; oil, gas, and petrochemicals; power; pulp, paper, and timber; supply chain; and technology. They highlight key themes for sustainability investments in Asia, as well as current disclosure norms and opportunities for global investors.

"Over the past decade, global and Asian investors have become more aware of the impact of environmental, social, and governance variables on their investments," said Melissa Brown, ASrIA's Executive Director. "Whether it is a question of watching companies struggle with persistent environmental challenges or evaluating the impact of labor disputes, investors in Asian equities must increasingly look at a range of global sustainability issues to assess the long-term value of companies."

"Investors need a framework for assessing the growing and complex environmental, social, and governance issues that face companies in Asia today. This report begins the process of creating such a framework," said IFC's Director of Environmental and Social Development, Rachel Kyte. "ASrIA is uniquely placed to develop this report in Asia, and these studies are the latest example of our cooperation with ASrIA and of the innovation in sustainable financial markets that we seek to spur."

The reports were launched in the United States at the Spring Meeting of the Social Investment Forum's International Working Group in Washington, D.C.

Taking Stock--Key Themes

Taking Stock represents a first step toward filling a very large analytical gap in the Asian investment literature. This gap is striking given that Asia is the fastest growing source of sustainability risks globally, due to its rapid growth in economic activity and in associated environmental, social, and governance (ESG) impacts. Indeed, developed market companies increasingly frame their discussion of these risks in terms of their activity in Asia. Despite the growing pressure to evaluate ESG issues in developed markets, Asian investors have had comparatively few benchmarks for rating performance because of more subdued enforcement of regulatory standards and less participation from minority shareholders.

The reports highlight three important key, cross-cutting risks affecting the Asian equity investment outlook generally:

International Finance Corporation

International Finance Corporation

The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, is the largest multilateral provider of financing for private enterprise in developing countries. IFC finances private sector investments, mobilizes capital in international financial markets, facilitates trade, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to businesses and governments. From its founding in 1956 through FY06, IFC has committed more than $56 billion of its own funds for private sector investments in the developing world and mobilized an additional $25 billion in syndications for 3,531 companies in 140 developing countries. With the support of funding from donors, it has also provided more than $1 billion in technical assistance and advisory services.

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