HYDROGEN TOPS CANADIAN INVESTORS’ CLEAN LIST IN SURVEY

Hydrogen is the clean energy investment that appeals the most to Canadian asset managers, while companies prefer solar, says a survey carried out for HSBC Holdings Plc. Interestingly, among 17 options for the reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions, the most favoured by each group, hydrogen and solar, was among the least liked by the other, a report released Friday showed. The survey conducted by Globalcapital and Euromoney Data in September involved 91 Canadian equity and bond investors, along with 91 corporate security issuers. “Issuers in particular are cold to hydrogen because of a perceived lack of communications about the technology and investment opportunities,” said Dan Leslie, senior vice-president and deputy head of commercial banking for HSBC Bank Canada. Despite their differences, both the asset managers and corporate issuers rank two areas high: energy-efficient buildings and carbon-capture technology.