ASEAN Exchanges to adopt ‘common’ sustainability plan

THE ASEAN Exchanges is working on a potential sustainability program to be adopted by its seven member exchanges, the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) said in an e-mailed statement on Wednesday.

The PSE hosted on Sept. 21 the 33rd CEOs Meeting, which was participated in by the leaders of the stock exchanges of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam — all members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“With sustainability as an important investment consideration, we are working towards a common sustainability program to attract even more investor interest,” PSE President and CEO Ramon S. Monzon was quoted as saying.

The ASEAN Exchanges aims to promote the capital markets in the region through cross-border collaboration and creating “ASEAN-centric products,” and implementing promotional initiatives.

Member exchanges are the PSE, Bursa Malaysia Berhad, Hanoi Stock Exchange, HoChiMinh Stock Exchange, Indonesia Stock Exchange, Singapore Exchange Ltd., and the Stock Exchange of Thailand.

For its efforts on sustainability, the PSE said the group will be identifying core environmental, social, governance (ESG) metrics for sustainability reports. An ESG working group was formed during the 32nd ASEAN Exchanges CEOs Meeting to lead this initiative.

The ASEAN Exchanges will also continue pursuing its efforts in digital marketing and content creation on social media. It has been featuring broker research reports and the monthly performance of indices on its Twitter account.

“We will aim for a more consistent presence on all available platforms so that the ASEAN Exchanges will be a top-of-mind investment choice among investors,” said Mr. Monzon. —