Advocacy Talking Points 7 April 2022
APAC ESG Investment Strategy: Identifying APAC's ESG Trend-setters
Watch the recorded webinar on 2022 ESG trends to watch and trend-setters in the APAC region, with a zoom-in on climate change, biodiversity and supply chains.
Webinar Presentation
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In this seminar jointly hosted with MSCI, we looked at how this year's top 10 global ESG themes, including Scope 3 emissions in the supply chain, decarbonization, biodiversity and the rapid evolution of ESG ratings and reporting, are playing out on the ground in the APAC region.
Investment in renewables, transparency in the supply chain, and measures to promote biodiversity create very different ESG risks and opportunities in different APAC markets, leading to major challenges for regional investors. Speakers also identified companies which are considered as ESG trend-setters in the region for 2022 and beyond, as well as how this performance affects both portfolio construction and stock selection for the APAC investment universe.
Presenters:
- Mary Leung, CFA, head, advocacy, Asia Pacific, CFA Institute
- Chitra Hepburn, managing director and head of ESG, APAC, MSCI
- Miranda Carr, executive director, ESG research, APAC, MSCI
Duration: 63 mins
Recorded: 7 April 2022
Speakers
Mary Leung, CFA, is the head, standards and advocacy, Asia Pacific, at CFA Institute. She is responsible for the development, maintenance, and promotion of capital markets policy perspectives in the APAC region. She also oversees the promotion and development of CFA Institute professional standards in the region. Mary has over 20 years of experience in the global financial industry, having worked in corporate finance, wealth management advisory, and fund management. Previously, she was with Coutts & Co, where she was director of Business Development and Management for North Asia. Prior to that she was executive director at UBS AG, where she led the Corporate Advisory Group in Hong Kong. With experience in both the buy- and sell-sides, Mary has a strong understanding of the drivers and dynamics of different investor groups, including institutional investors, corporates, family offices, asset owners, and high-net-worth individuals. Mary graduated from Peterhouse, Cambridge with a degree in Engineering. She is a CFA charterholder and speaks English, Putonghua, and Cantonese.
Chitra Hepburn is MSCI’s Head of APAC ESG & Climate, and Head of South & Southeast Asia. Based in Singapore, she is responsible for leading MSCI’s ESG and climate business across the diverse region, as well as managing and growing MSCI’s footprint and client relationships in South and Southeast Asia.
Chitra initially spent 15 years in Investment Banking, a number of those being in project finance in the green energy sector. Following that, she focused on cleantech investments in China, followed by a few years in corporate development and ESG.
Chitra has lived and worked in 10 countries across APAC as well as Europe. Chitra was on the Board of Collective Responsibility and Green Initiatives for a number of years. She holds a Master’s Degree in Environmental Economics from the London School of Economics, which spurred her on to a Sustainability-focused career path.
Miranda Carr, who joined MSCI in January 2021, is Head of Applied ESG & Climate Research, with a focus on the key issues and developments in ESG & Climate in the Asian region. She has developed ESG integration frameworks for key APAC clients.
Prior to joining MSCI, Miranda was Senior ESG Analyst at Haitong International, one of China’s largest securities companies, where she worked from 2015-20 and launched their ‘ESG in Asia’ research product. Before that, she spent 8 years analyzing Chinese government policy and investment strategy as Head of Research for an independent research company, NSBO, in London/Beijing.
In 2003, she obtained an MSc from Bayes Business School (formerly CASS Business School), where she focused on Socially Responsible Investment.