KUALA LUMPUR: The stock exchanges of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore are collaborating on the Asean-Interconnected sustainability Ecosystem (Asean-ISE) to advance the region's sustainable development through the implementation of common ESG metrics in their respective data infrastructures.
In a joint statement, the bourses said the Asean-ISE initiative was formalised at a recent meeting between the partner exchanges, marking an agreement on the foundational governance structure and operational blueprint for building the inter-connected sustainability ecosystem.
Bursa Malaysia will serve as the Asean-ISE secretariat to facilitate the successful execution of its objectives.
It said the intended outcomes include the creation of an integrated ESG ecosystem to promote the progress of sustainable development in Asean and enabling participating exchanges to achieve economies of scale through cost efficiency and faster time-to-market with fit-for-purpose solutions.
It also aims to empower participating exchanges to proactively assist ESG-compliant corporates in maximising business value through quality disclosures.
This involves developing infrastructure solutions to facilitate cross-border trade flows, connecting corporates’ supply chains to ESG-oriented investment capital, and
providing suppliers with good ESG practices and disclosures to secure more competitive financing rates.
"Together, we envisage an open and inclusive ecosystem in which Participating Exchanges in Asean operate a trusted, and fundamentally aligned data infrastructure.
"This will be supported by comprehensive sets of modular-based, fit-for-purpose and cost-efficient solutions that can be deployed in response to the Participating Exchanges’ specific market needs and conditions," said Bursa Malaysia CEO Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift.
The participating exchanges will reconvene to finalise the implementation details before formalising the ISE Governance Framework and Operating Structure at the 37th Asean Exchanges CEOs Meeting, scheduled to be held in July 2024 in Malaysia.
