On 15 February 2024, Bursa Malaysia Berhad (Bursa Malaysia), Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), and Singapore Exchange (SGX Group) (collectively, "Participating Exchanges") announced their team-up to jointly develop the ASEAN-Interconnected Sustainability Ecosystem ("ASEAN-ISE"). The initiative seeks to promote the Association of Southeast Asian Nations' ("ASEAN") sustainable development "through the implementation of common ESG metrics in their respective data infrastructures."
The intended outcomes of the ASEAN-ISE include:
- Creating an integrated environmental, social, and governance ("ESG") ecosystem to promote sustainability in ASEAN;
- Enabling Participating Exchanges to reap the benefits of economies of scale through cost efficiency and speedy time-to-market with fit-for-purpose solutions; and
- Empowering Participating Exchanges to assist ESG-compliant companies in enhancing business value through quality disclosures.
The Participating Exchanges agreed to certain deliverables under the collaboration that will take into account local considerations and the maturity levels of the Participating Exchanges' respective markets. Notably, they have committed to integrate in their respective ESG reporting platforms the "ASEAN Exchanges Common ESG Metrics", a published set of ESG metrics recommended for disclosure by listed companies.
The Participating Exchanges will reconvene in July 2024 to finalise the implementation details of the ASEAN-ISE initiative.
