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Bank of China Launches First Chinese SRI Fund
Bank of China Launches First Chinese SRI Fund
Published 05-24-06
Submitted by Brooklyn Bridge
Wu Jun is BOC's International Investment Manager, and Head of Sustainable Investment. He is also managing the fund, and says he will look beyond financial performance to include "sustainability of the business model, corporate governance, corporate strategy and the attitude towards social responsibility" as investment criteria. "It's possible to promote positive and socially responsible corporate behaviour ... as well as long term capital appreciation for investors", Wu Jun says. At TBLI Asia in Bangkok, 25-26 May, Wu Jun will explain more about this exciting new development.
Socially responsible investment first gained profile in the USA and Europe in the early 1990's and has since grown rapidly. With China's first SRI fund now under way, the country's vast population may at last begin to experience the benefits of clean, green and socially sustainable investment. Wu Jun says that he expects Chinese SRI to accelerate following the BOC lead. "There is a lot of support building here in China for investment that benefits society, as well as earning good commercial returns. We expect to see SRI become increasingly prevalent, and BOC will continue to lead the way with that", Wu Jun said.
The benefits of SRI reaching a quarter of the world's population will be felt well beyond China alone. This rapidly growing economy also has a growing appetitive for energy and other resources, posing a big challenge for sustainable development.
Robert Rubinstein, CEO of TBLI Consulting, calculates that China will reach the same consumption levels as the USA by 2031. "At current productivity levels China will need more than the entire world production of oil and coal. It's difficult to see how that can be achieved at all, never mind achieving it sustainably", Rubinstein says. SRI is essential, he believes, to drive as much of China's growth as possible into more energy efficient and sustainable technologies and production. "Clean-tech and socially sustainable investment will be absolutely crucial for China's future development", he said.
Elsewhere in Asia SRI has already gained a foothold. In Thailand two of the country's leading pension funds are keenly interested. Dr. Piyasvasti Amranand, Chairman of Kasikorn Asset Management, and Chanchai Supasagee, from the Government Pension Fund, will both speak at TBLI Asia about the growth of SRI in the Thai economy, and their projections for the future.
A clear example of how SRI has already helped Thai people is the Assets Capitalization Bureau programme. In conjunction with banks the programme collateralised previously non-valuable assets. These include intellectual property rights, tenure rights, and rights relating to movable properties. It also assisted in securing land tenure, and in turn creating incentives for long term investment in the land. Bureau International Coodinator Tony Zola helped set up this innovative programme. "This is an excellent example of how market forces can be harnessed to help people build better lives", Zola said.
Zola will join other experts in the SRI Implementation workshop at the TBLI conference. With expertise in natural resources and environmental planning, as well as development administration, he is well placed to tell the other side of the SRI story - how the funds actually get applied to improve people's lives.
