M'SIA EYES HONG KONG'S GREEN FINANCING TO BOOST FOREST CONSERVATION - MFF

KUALA LUMPUR, May 6 (Bernama) -- The Malaysia Forest Fund (MFF) has identified significant opportunities in leveraging green bonds and green financing offered by Hong Kong to strengthen forest conservation efforts and develop the carbon market in Malaysia.

MFF chief executive officer Datuk Shah Redza Hussein said Malaysia was also paying close attention to green finance initiatives aligned with Hong Kong’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) strategy.

“MFF plays a key role in sustainable finance, including mobilising forest conservation funds through innovative instruments such as carbon credits.

“Malaysia is currently developing national standards for Forest Carbon Offset (FCO) to ensure transparency and credibility in ESG investments, in line with Hong Kong’s efforts to strengthen corporate sustainability reporting and sustainable financing,” he said in a statement issued in conjunction with the ESG Xchange 2025 conference in Hong Kong today.

MFF is an agency under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability (NRES) and has been appointed as the National Focal Point for matters related to Article 6.8 of the Paris Agreement.

According to Shah Redza, Malaysia could benefit from the Green and Sustainable Finance Grant Scheme launched in Hong Kong last April, which has since supported more than 560 instruments with total underlying debt issuances worth HK$1.2 trillion.

He said this presented an opportunity for Malaysia to issue green bonds backed by local forest conservation projects and carbon credits, thereby attracting more ESG investments into the country.

Additionally, he noted Hong Kong's carbon trading platforms, like the Hong Kong Exchange's Core Climate, could serve as channels for Malaysia to sell carbon credits generated through forest conservation initiatives.

“With these initiatives, Malaysia can ensure transparency and credibility in carbon transactions, making them more attractive to global investors,” he said.

Meanwhile, Shah Redza suggested Malaysia could draw inspiration from Hong Kong's Green and Sustainable Fintech Proof-of-Concept Financing Scheme that supported green financial technology projects.

He said MFF could also collaborate with financial institutions and research bodies to develop innovative financial solutions that supported forest conservation and carbon trading.

Such cooperation between Malaysia and Hong Kong in green finance, he said, would not only strengthen forest conservation efforts but also enhance Malaysia’s competitiveness in the global carbon market.

Through these various initiatives, MFF could accelerate the implementation of green projects and ensure Malaysia continued to play a leading role in global climate action, he added.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Joseph H.L. Chan, in his opening speech at the conference, said climate and sustainability issues were urgent matters that required immediate action.

He also emphasised Hong Kong’s commitment to becoming a leading green finance hub in Asia by developing diverse financial mechanisms to support ESG initiatives.

-- BERNAMA