Bursa Malaysia, the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), and the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) are planning to establish an inter-regional Environmental, Social, and Governance ecosystem. The three exchanges intend to work together to promote excellent ESG practices and responsible growth in their individual markets, while also providing cross-border opportunities for ESG investments.
It also seeks to discover commonalities within the ASEAN ESG ecosystem in order to facilitate cross-border commerce, expand commercial prospects, and advance sustainable finance for firms of all sizes and their supply chains throughout the region.
The three exchanges will work together to help companies reduce their carbon footprint and become more sustainable across their supply chains, as per fintechnews.
The collaboration will also investigate the establishment of a "sandbox" environment to facilitate trade and develop new business prospects for enterprises, especially SMEs. They will also endeavor to develop the ESG ecosystem by sharing their knowledge in ESG practices through workshops, training sessions, and other programs. Datuk Muhamad Umar Swift of Bursa Malaysia said,
“We are pleased to formalise this collaboration with SET and IDX. Through this partnership, we aim to enhance cross-border cooperation and seize opportunities to harmonise ESG measures and ESG infrastructure that promotes sustainable business practices in ASEAN. This MoU establishes the groundwork for similar collaborations with other interested exchanges in Asia and lays a solid foundation for engaging partners from the Global North as well."