China, Singapore scale green transition financing

China and Singapore, two major Asian economies, have established a task force to deepen bilateral cooperation in green and transition finance.

The move is intended to facilitate greater public-private sector collaboration in the region for a low-carbon future.

The Singapore Monetary Authority (MAS) and the People’s Bank of China (PBC) have collaborated to establish the China-Singapore Green Finance Taskforce (GFTF).

With GFTF, the parties intend to collaborate on the development of a set of financial standards, products, technologies, and definitions to reduce carbon footprints.

Gillian Tan, assistant managing director and chief sustainability officer of the MAS, stated that public-private participants from China and Singapore will collaborate “on concrete initiatives that will catalyze capital flows to support a credible and inclusive transition to a low carbon future for our countries and the region.”

Initially, the GFTF will enable MAS and PBC to establish a common base for taxonomies and definitions regarding each other’s existing transition activities.

The task force will also provide the countries with the means to improve sustainability bond market connectivity, including access in both directions to green and transition bond products.

MetaVerse Green Exchange, a licensed cryptocurrency exchange from Singapore, and Beijing Green Exchange, a company sanctioned by the Beijing municipal government, will participate in the GFTF’s technology initiative to facilitate the adoption of sustainable finance.

The two companies are also tasked with piloting carbon credit-based digital green bonds.

According to reports, Chinese banks are establishing bank accounts for regulated crypto companies, with a number of them serving as a payment layer for crypto platforms.

ZA Bank, Hong Kong’s largest virtual bank, will serve as the settlement bank for crypto companies, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

The Chinese state-owned Bank of Communications is in talks to establish accounts for regulated companies.