Shining spotlight on Asia’s carbon market

Tan: The bank’s sponsorship demonstrates its strong and continued commitment to support the ESG agenda and initiatives towards carbon neutrality by 2050.

THE first Asia Carbon Conference took place recently in Kuching, Sarawak, and OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd was the sole financial institution that was a gold sponsor.

The two-day conference was organised by Argus Media in collaboration with the Energy and Environmental Sustainability Ministry Sarawak.

SaraCarbon Sdn Bhd (SaraCarbon), which is part of Samling Group, was the head sponsor.

The conference featured global subject matter experts from both Asia and Europe including Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom and Switzerland.

They shared insights on the regulatory framework and the future of Asia’s carbon market including new technologies and investment opportunities.

Sarawak Premier Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg, who launched the conference, shared the state’s comprehensive roadmap and strategic initiatives towards championing economic prosperity, social inclusivity, and environmental sustainability by 2030.

He subsequently presented carbon licences to the first two recipients, SaraCarbon and Petroleum Sarawak Bhd.

OCBC Bank managing director and head of investment banking Tan Ai Chin said that the sponsorship demonstrates OCBC Bank’s strong commitment to support the environemntal, social and governance (ESG) agenda and initiatives in facilitating the nation’s transition journey towards carbon neutrality by 2050.

“OCBC Group looks forward to supporting the state government as well as other corporates and government-linked companies in their ESG initiatives in Sarawak by offering bespoke financing solutions and playing a key role in the sustainability ecosystem.

“OCBC Bank has a long and well-established business relationship with Samling Group and has been supporting its initiatives in ensuring environmental protection as part of its transition journey, including financing the group’s wood pellet manufacturing plant for industrial power plants.

“Hence, we are glad that SaraCarbon has been granted the licence by the Sarawak government to operate its forest carbon business activities, in line with Samling Group’s continuous efforts for forest conservation to reduce carbon emission and mitigate the effects of climate change,” she said.

In the fourth quarter of last year, OCBC Group signed up for the industry-led Net Zero Banking Alliance.

It has also begun developing a systematic plan to achieve net zero by 2050 as part of its commitment to working with industry peers, customers and policymakers to transition to a low-carbon world.