On November 30, the Guangdong-HK-Macao Bay Area Entrepreneurs Alliance held its seventh anniversary “GBA Night & ESG Excellence Awards Ceremony” at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive John Lee delivered video greetings. Deputy Financial Secretary Wong Wai-lun, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang, and Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak attended as officiating guests. Among attendees was Mr. Joseph Mak, Executive Dean of the Asia-Pacific ESG Strategy Research Institute, Vice Chairman of the Alliance’s ESG Committee, and member of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
Opening Speech
Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive John Lee emphasized in his video speech that 2024 marks the fifth anniversary of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Development Plan. The Plan supports Hong Kong in leveraging its status as an international financial center to become the GBA’s green finance hub.
Under the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, Hong Kong maintains unique advantages in connecting mainland China with global markets. With its deep capital markets and professional services expertise, Hong Kong continues to channel domestic and international capital into green and sustainable projects.
The Hong Kong government will fully support green enterprises and projects in the GBA by providing green financing and certification services. Additionally, the government plans to implement a roadmap for adopting ISSB sustainability disclosure standards this year.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority has launched a Sustainable Finance Action Plan to strengthen Hong Kong’s position as a sustainable finance hub through banking supervision, Exchange Fund investments, and financial market development.
Dr. Johnathan Choi, Standing Committee Member of the CPPCC National Committee and Chairman of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Entrepreneurs Alliance, emphasized the Alliance’s seven years of growth and increasing social influence. He announced the Alliance will focus on three key areas: advancing ESG practices to promote green economic development, enhancing industry-academia-research-market integration, and improving alignment of laws, rules and standards across the GBA.
In collaboration with Hong Kong Ta Kung Wen Wei Media Group, the Alliance will launch the “Run Across the Greater Bay Area” campaign next year, organizing Hong Kong entrepreneurs to visit all 12 GBA cities in stages. This initiative aims to strengthen business ties through sports while fostering greater GBA integration.
Awarding Certificates of Recognition
At the ceremony, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Entrepreneurs Alliance presented its “Outstanding ESG Performance Organization in the Greater Bay Area” awards to institutions demonstrating exceptional commitment to sustainable development. Asia-Pacific ESG Strategy Research Institute (APESG) was honored for its significant contributions to advancing sustainability across the region.
Fourteen distinguished enterprises received this recognition, including HSBC, Bank of China (Hong Kong), China Wantian Holdings, Shun Tak Holdings, Xingzheng International Financial Group, NTA Group, and Guanling Technology. The awards were presented by Deputy Financial Secretary Wong Wai-lun, Alliance Chairman Dr. Jonathan Choi, and Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang during the gala event.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the ESG concept being proposed globally. ESG principles have now gained widespread recognition and application worldwide.
In 2024, China’s ESG market has continued its strong growth momentum. Policymakers are focusing on information disclosure and climate transition, particularly in enhancing ESG disclosure requirements for listed companies. China is actively building an ESG framework that aligns with international standards to meet the increasingly stringent disclosure requirements from regulators and stock exchanges.
These requirements are driving companies to continuously upgrade their governance and management structures for climate-related issues, overall strategies, and risk management processes.
Guided by its mission to “empower corporate ESG development and promote sustainable growth in Asia-Pacific,” the Institute has organized a series of ESG forums. These events bring together ESG experts from across the region to strengthen corporate ESG strategies, demonstrating the Institute’s commitment to advancing sustainability.
On May 28, APESG held its inauguration ceremony and inaugural ESG Innovation Forum in Hong Kong, bringing together think tank experts from across the Asia-Pacific region to empower corporate ESG strategy development and pursue sustainable development in the region.
On September 19, APESG partnered with SCPG, a leading Chinese commercial real estate company, to co-host the “Exploring Carbon, Greening the Future” study activity at SCPG Center in Shenzhen. Participants conducted on-site visits to SCPG’s low-carbon transformation benchmark projects and held in-depth discussions on sustainable development and ESG case studies, exploring pathways for low-carbon transformation and sustainability in the shopping center industry.
On November 6, APESG jointly organized the “2024 Asia-Pacific Carbon Summit and World Low-Carbon Cities Forum” with Shenzhen Tsinghua University Research Institute’s Low-Carbon and Sustainable Development R&D Center in Hengqin, Zhuhai. The event attracted global authorities in carbon management, innovation pioneers, and corporate leaders to explore new pathways for corporate green and low-carbon transformation and reshape corporate global competitiveness.
This recognition affirms APESG’s past work and expresses expectations for its future development. As 2024 approaches, APESG will continue to collaborate with government organizations, corporate partners, industry experts, and academic institutions to advance the development, innovation, and practice of ESG in the Asia-Pacific region, working together to build a grand vision for sustainable development in the region.
