On December 5, SZSE successfully held the Second Session of the MSCI ESG Training for A-share Companies. Experts from MSCI, Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and other relevant organizations provided instructions and deliberations around topics like ESG investment trends, ESG data disclosure, legislation and disclosure trends on climate change, the sustainable development of China and others, at which over 330 representatives from 270 listed companies were present as trainees.

ESG criteria, as one of the important concepts and evaluation systems in international investment, integrate environment, social responsibility, and corporate governance indicators. As more and more international investors agree with ESG concept and sustainable development, they are including the ESG criteria during their selection of investment targets. Experts attending the training session believed, the fast growing ESG-based investment and the improving ESG rating systems are based on corporate governance and focus on key factors and risks of the industry, which are conductive to identifying risk features of the industry and provide more comprehensive insights into potential influence on corporate income. The importance attached to ESG is now greater than ever by Chinese enterprises who still need to further refine management by objectives, indicator disclosure and governance framework.

SZSE calls for social responsibility and sustainable development all the time. It is one of the forerunners who pay attention to corporate governance and establishes a research center earlier than most of others. Now, it has become an important platform to boost green industry development by promoting the implementation of ESG criteria in listed companies, smoothing financing channels for green industry, strengthening cross-border cooperation for green finance and fueling global development of green finance. On September 2006, SZSE took the lead in formulating and issuing the Guidelines for Corporate Social Responsibility of Listed Companies to guide them in social responsibility information disclosure. The SZSE-listed companies are raising their awareness of social responsibility over time. Take the Annual Report 2018 as an example. 89 percent of companies have disclosed information about fulfilling their social responsibilities or disclosed CSR Report separately. Among which, the number of companies which disclosed CSR Report separately increased by 41 year on year. In 2016, SZSE launched the green corporate bond pilot and innovative products like Green ABS and Green PPP. In 2017, SZSE launched the CUFE-CNI High Grade China Green Bond Total Return Index to provide market information simultaneously in China and Europe, striving for connectivity of green product services in the China’s capital market. In addition, SZSE itself is engaged in ESG practice and devotes itself to building a transparent exchange. It has participated in the Alxa ecological construction since 2002 by co-founding the Alxa Ecological Foundation. It fully takes advantages of the platform and assists poverty alleviation by investing human and material resources.

At this crucial stage of transformation and upgrading of China’s economy structure, there are strong financial needs in green industry development and green transformation and upgrading of traditional industries. SZSE will, in line with the requirements of CSRC, build a system of rules focusing on information disclosure and give full play to advantages of market, technology, service and location to promote high quality development of listed companies and raise their awareness of green development responsibility. SZSE will also help channel social capital into green economy for sustainable development in China and provide a preferable environment for global investors entering into China market through constant improvement of internationalized infrastructures and cross-border services.