Bank of Ayudhya, or Krungsri, aims to grow its social and sustainable finance portfolio.
Finance

Thailand's Bank of Ayudhya debuts corporate ESG deposits

Toyota leasing unit is MUFG subsidiary's first customer for new product

9 March 2024
VinFast Auto Chairwoman Le Thi Thu Thuy speaks during the Asia Green Tech Summit in Singapore on March 7. (Photo by Hiroki Endo)
Climate Change

From EVs to hydrogen, Asia's green tech sector perseveres amid financing hurdles

Nikkei-Financial Times summit highlights transition urgency amid climate change

7 March 2024
Workers help a driver stranded during a flood that hit Hong Kong in September. Warming has proceeded faster in Asia than other regions.
Climate Change

Asian lender ADB to raise share of climate loans to 55% by 2030

Development bank to expand funding sources and private-sector partnerships

29 February 2024
Japan on Wednesday auctioned the world's first sovereign climate transition bonds. (NIKKEI montage/Source photos by Getty and Kyodo)
Bonds

Japan sells world's 1st sovereign GX climate bonds: 3 things to know

Hope for simultaneous decarbonization and economic growth rests on new finance tool

14 February 2024
POSCO started off as a state-run enterprise when it was established in 1968 as Pohang Iron and Steel Co.
Materials

POSCO's new CEO pick shows how South Korean state still holds sway

Nominating committee seems to bend in Choi ouster after remarks by fund head

10 February 2024
Thai Securities and Exchange Commission Secretary-General Pornanong Budsaratragoon, second from right, helps to launch the nation's first set of ESG funds on Dec. 8. (Photo by Francesca Regalado)
Markets

Thailand aims to raise $284m through new ESG funds by year-end

Regulators look to position nation as sustainability leader in ASEAN

8 December 2023
A worker holds up clothing at a factory in Indonesia. Apparel companies are focusing more on mitigating human rights abuses in their supply chains.
Supply Chain

Japan clothier Aoyama to screen Indonesian plant for abuse risk

More Japanese companies perform human rights due diligence amid Tokyo's push

8 December 2023
Skyscrapers in Mumbai. Aavishkaar Capital executives say its latest fund closed 50% higher than its predecessors.
DealStreetAsia

Aavishkaar Capital closes 6th India-focused fund at $150m

Impact investor to continue backing 'early-stage businesses'

18 November 2023
Smog envelops Jakarta's skyline. Air pollution is a major problem for Indonesia's capital city. (Photo by David Andreas)
Startups

Indonesian startup Nafas takes on urban air pollution

Sensors feed data to smartphones to help people breathe easier

2 October 2023
Leaders of ASEAN and G20 nations gather this month with climate change, and how to finance tackling it, looming large after one of the hottest summers on record. Illustration by Hiroko Oshima
Asia Insight

Indonesia climate deal in $20bn gridlock as Vietnam, India on hold

'Breakthrough' funded by G7+ investors misses deadline; Hanoi's $15.5bn plan delayed

5 September 2023
As many Asian countries started to seriously consider how they would achieve carbon neutrality, they have come to see the use of ammonia as a means to this end. (Source photo by JERA) 
Business Spotlight

Japan warms to disputed coal power technology under West's icy stare

Government, companies eager to work with non-G7 partners on 'co-firing' ammonia

11 August 2023
A Hindu holy man in New Delhi in 2021: Pollution and heatwaves in the Indian capital are just early signs of a bleak future that will bring more inhumane conditions.
Opinion

For emerging markets, ESG will not work without economic growth

Combination can help ensure sustainable and inclusive long-term development

7 August 2023
Units 5 and 6 of the Tanjung Jati B coal-fired power plant went into commercial operation in 2022 in Central Java province. (Photo by Koya Jibiki)
Climate Change

Japan trading houses explore Indonesia coal-fired power exits

Net-zero emissions target pressures investors to turn to renewable energy

2 August 2023
A solar farm in Kawasaki, Japan. Japanese online lender Orix Bank is looking to finance more renewable energy projects domestically.
Environment

Japan's Orix Bank to plow $2.9bn into renewables and logistics

Digital bank to securitize lending for investors hungry for ESG investments

14 July 2023
Shareholder backing for environmental proposals has fallen at U.S. companies this year.
Finance

Shareholder support for ESG proposals crumbles at U.S. companies

BlackRock CEO says the word has become 'entirely weaponized'

28 June 2023
Transition bonds are financial instruments used to pay for activities that help the issuer make the transition to net zero, according to the Climate Bonds Initiative. (Source photos by Kyodo and AP) 
Markets

'Transition bonds' are new favorite for Japanese investors

Government backing, green label fuels demand for emerging asset class

19 June 2023
Lego says companies and countries must stop trashing their own environment. A factory in Vietnam is its first to be carbon-neutral, the Danish toymaker says. (Photo by Lien Hoang)
Supply Chain

Lego to other Vietnam producers: Stop chasing cheapest cost

Country must be 'damn serious' about going green, says toymaker with $1bn factory

2 June 2023
Indian conglomerate Adani Group has announced it is selling a port project underway in Myanmar for just $30 million after coming under fire from activist investors.
Myanmar Crisis

ESG investors push international firms to rethink Myanmar projects

India's Adani Group pulls out of port development, taking losses

31 May 2023
In 2022, Hong Kong launched its first green bond for individual investors, with proceeds earmarked for resource-recycling projects and environmentally friendly buildings.  (Source photo by Reuters)
Business trends

Hong Kong races to hire ESG talent amid green hub push

Staff shortfall tests bid to fill environmental, social and governance jobs

3 March 2023
Business leaders exchange ideas on driving progress in private sector efforts to slow climate change at the Asia Green Tech Summit in Singapore on Feb. 8. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi) 
Climate Change

Green tech investments set up Asia for sustainable growth

Regional companies urge climate crisis collaboration at Nikkei-FT summit

8 February 2023
Siam Cement Group is close to completing the Long Son petrochemical production complex in Vietnam, shown here. (Photo courtesy of SCG)
Materials

Thailand's SCG hit by global headwinds as it tries to go green

High costs and weak demand cloud outlook for Vietnam paper plant, subsidiary's IPO

7 February 2023
Coca-Cola is joining with a Thai petrochemical company to launch a PET recycling plant in the Philippines.
Materials

Suntory, Coke aim to stem Southeast Asia's tide of plastic waste

Bottle recycling seen as business opportunity with eco-friendly sheen

16 December 2022
Nearly everything at Lego's groundbreaking in Binh Duong, Vietnam, was made of toy bricks, from flower settings to dragon dancer statues. (Photo by Lien Hoang)
Supply Chain

Lego breaks ground on $1bn carbon-neutral factory in Vietnam

World's biggest toy company building base in Southeast Asia's top solar producer

3 November 2022