Singapore Financial Regulator to Launch ESG Disclosure and Data Platforms
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the central bank and financial regulator of Singapore, announced today an initiative to partner with financial technology providers and finance industry participants on the development of ESG and sustainable-focused data platforms.
The new initiative is being conducted under MAS’ Project Greenprint, which the authority launched last year in order to help mobilize capital for green and sustainable finance by harnessing technology and data and create a more transparent, trusted and efficient ESG ecosystem. MAS aims to develop four interoperable platforms under Project Greenprint, targeting areas including ESG disclosure, data orchestration, registration and interconnection.
Singapore has emerged as a hub for financial services companies and ESG-focused data providers looking to capitalize on the growing ESG and sustainable finance opportunities in the Asian market. In September, the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) launched a dedicated sustainable finance innovation unit in Singapore, and earlier this year, Moody’s Corporation announced a series of initiatives to expand its Singapore office aiming to spearhead ESG, following the establishment of its own ESG Solutions Group office in Singapore in February.
The proposed platforms include Greenprint Common Disclosure Portal, developed in partnership with the Singapore Exchange, which aims to simplify ESG disclosure by converting data inputs into different reporting frameworks; Greenprint Data Orchestrator, to aggregate ESG data from different sectoral platforms and trusted data sources, enabling new analytics-driven data insights to better support investment and financing decisions; Greenprint ESG Registry, in partnership with Hashstacs Pte Ltd (STACS), to record and maintain ESG certifications on a distributed ledger, and; Greenprint Marketplace, in partnership with API Exchange, to connect green technology providers with investors and corporates.
Pilots of the new platforms are anticipated to be completed in the second half of 2022.
MAS also stated that it will use data from the Greenprint Data Orchestrator and ESG Registry to work on use case projects targeting the building and construction, and palm oil sectors, in order to facilitate green and sustainability-linked trade finance for the sectors, by enabling banks to digitalise their financing transactions with greater assurance that they meet the criteria set out in green and sustainability financing frameworks.
Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer, MAS said:
“Technology is a key enabler for the financial industry to meet the challenges of green transition and achieving net-zero emissions. Project Greenprint provides foundational digital infrastructure that aggregates new and existing ESG data from ground-up across multiple sectoral platforms and solutions to facilitate trusted ESG data flows between the financial sector and the real economy – both within Singapore and globally.”