CIMB targets RM100bil sustainable finance by 2024

KUALA LUMPUR: CIMB Group Holdings Bhd (CIMB) is raising its sustainable finance target to RM100 billion by 2024 under its Green, Social, Sustainable Impact Products and Services (GSSIPS) Framework.

Group chief executive officer Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad said CIMB has seen an acceleration in sustainable finance across the markets it operates in, with the growing awareness and adoption of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG).

He noted that the group had surpassed its previous sustainable finance target of RM60 billion, having mobilised close to RM70 billion sustainable finance to-date since 2021.

"Accordingly, we are pleased to announce our higher sustainable finance target of RM100 billion by 2024, driven by the accelerating adoption of environmentally and socially responsible practices among our clients,” he said in his welcoming remarks at the Cooler Earth Sustainability Summit 2023 today.

He added that the trend is encouraging and further reinforces the group’s conviction that the transition towards greener and more resilient economies presents significant new opportunities for financial institutions such as banks to grow their business.

In line with the GSSIPS framework, CIMB’s commitment includes green, social and sustainable financing, as well as sustainability-linked, retail, corporate and commercial financing, trade financing, debt and equity capital markets, wealth management, and treasury solutions.

Abdul Rahman said CIMB is also strongly committed to playing a leading role in green and transition finance across the ASEAN region.

"In driving this commitment forward, we will continue to introduce and promote innovative solutions to support our client’s goals and ambitions in the transition towards a greener and more sustainable future,” he said.

He also announced that CIMB has entered into a Memorandum of Collaboration with Bursa Malaysia Bhd to leverage its Bursa Carbon Exchange (BCX) which provides a streamlined platform for trading high-quality carbon credits through standardised contracts.

Abdul Rahman said the strategic partnership would feature collaborative capacity-building initiatives, aimed at deepening the understanding of voluntary carbon markets and improving clients' accessibility to carbon credits.

"It will also explore the possibility of enabling CIMB to effectively conduct carbon credit transactional services on behalf of our clients via the BCX platform,” he said.

In his speech, he lauded the Malaysian government’s recent policy announcements which are aimed at not just delivering on the country’s ambition to achieve Net Zero by 2050 but also adopting sustainability as a key strategy to transform Malaysia’s economic growth.

Abdul Rahman said the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) would open up investment opportunities of up to RM1.85 trillion by 2050 from 10 wide-ranging catalytic initiatives, to enable the export of renewables, as well as create over 23,000 high-impact jobs.

At the same time, the New Industrial Master Plan 2030 (NIMP) aims to revitalise the country's manufacturing sector and increase its value-added turnaround to RM587.5 billion by 2030, while striving for a net-zero future, he said. - Bernama