Breaks and reforms/reformulates
How I got here… National University of Singapore green finance academic Sumit Agarwal
Prof Sumit Agarwal, Managing Director of SGFIN, delves into his transition from the corporate world to academia and how his initial passion for sustainability was reignited at NUS. He also comments on the criticism surrounding green finance and discusses how SGFIN aims to address these concerns and build expertise in the field.
How will India’s green credit scheme work?
Prof Sumit Agarwal, Managing Director of SGFIN saw the importance of incentive-based scheme to drive positive environmental outcomes and become environmentally viable.
Huawei’s Tech4City Competition to tap on youth tech talents to drive smart mobility and sustainability financing
Assoc Prof Zhang Weina, Deputy Director of SGFIN, shared how technological advancements in renewable energy solutions have ushered in new considerations in business financing models. She also highlighted proposed solutions by NUS students in the SGFIN-Fidelity Sustainable Finance Case Competition 2023 to facilitate the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to transition into more sustainable business practices.
Can the Asean Taxonomy Help Achieve the Region’s Sustainability Ambitions?
Prof Sumit Agarwal, Managing Director of SGFIN reckoned that the biggest benefit of a regional taxonomy is that it provides a common language for companies and investors to communicate sustainability performance. Assoc Prof Zhang Weina, Deputy Director of SGFIN added that the benefits of unification [of country-level taxonomies to create a regional framework] are numerous, such as reducing the compliance cost across different countries, faster speed of adoption and greater transparency.
Era of the Super App
(National Geographic Asia) Professor Sumit Agarwal, professor of Finance, raised the concern of discrimination in traditional labour markets and shared how the use of Super App can eliminate discrimination by focusing solely on product delivery. (Watch the sharing from 15:50 to 16:09)
Helping developing countries while driving sustainability: How World Bank balances the two
Ms Anshula Kant, Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, World Bank Group, shared how capital markets can drive sustainable development goals in a talk jointly organised by NUS Business School and SGFIN.
Charting a Green Transition for Small-and-Medium Enterprises
The university-wide SGFIN-Fidelity Sustainable Finance Case Competition 2023 was a meaningful journey for more than 150 participating students. Assoc Prof Zhang Weina, Deputy Director of SGFIN, and Ms Vigilia Ang, Research Associate at SGFIN, summarised the key takeaways of the top three winning teams’ financially viable solutions and presented alternative solutions proposed by the other finalist teams for SMEs’ solar energy adoption towards sustainability.
Carbon credits: catalyzing green finance
Assoc Prof Johan Sulaeman, Director of SGFIN, and Assoc Prof Zhang Weina, Deputy Director of SGFIN, discussed the current and future scenario of carbon credits in Southeast Asia and shared SGFIN’s research initiatives with regard to carbon credits. Insights on voluntary carbon credits and views on the pricing of carbon credits were also explored.
The Role of Financial Institutions in Supporting Net Zero Investments
Associate Professor Zhang Weina, the Deputy Director of SGFIN, shared on the Landscape of Sustainable Finance, discussed sustainable investment strategies and raised integration as a key concept for considering how the social and environmental impacts affect financial returns.
Speech by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Lawrence Wong at the Official Launch of the Sustainable and Green Finance Institute on 20 April 2023
…. Speaking at the official opening of the Sustainable and Green Finance Institute at the National University of Singapore (NUS) on Thursday, Mr Wong, who is also deputy chairman of MAS, said Singapore’s Green Finance Industry Taskforce has led the development of a taxonomy to classify activities according to a “traffic light” system….”
NUS Sustainable and Green Finance Institute celebrates official launch
SGFIN Managing Director, Professor Sumit Agarwal highlighted the need to nurture a deep pipeline of talent for Singapore to position itself as a green finance hub in Asia. Ms Jorgina Chieng, a student from the first cohort of the MSc SGF programme shared how unique opportunities are provided to gain specialised financial expertise required to help companies with sustainable, energy transition.