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Climate and sustainability: Hong Kong bourse says one-size-fits-all approach not desirable when it comes to disclosure standards

  • It would be irresponsible to force firms to prepare disclosures that they don’t have bandwidth for, HKEX executive says
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HKEX canvassed more than 50 large and small listed companies on what they needed in terms of capacity building to meet the proposed ISSB requirements, before reaching its conclusions. Photo: JEROME FAVRE
Eric Ng

Hong Kong’s bourse will take into account smaller firms’ capacities when deciding on how it will require listed companies to meet more onerous international disclosure requirements, an exchange official said at the ReThink HK conference on Thursday.

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The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), created last November during the global climate talks in Glasgow, published a set of proposed global baseline standards for the disclosure of climate-related risks and opportunities, and another set for other sustainability issues. It aims to consolidate various standards launched by different organisations over the years, to enhance comparability of corporate performance and to give businesses a more effective push to meet global climate and sustainability goals.
In March, ISSB launched an international consultation, which closed in late July. It aims to issue by year-end disclosure standards that are expected to be adopted by securities regulators globally.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), the local bourse operator, is of the view that a one-size-fits-all approach is not desirable, said Katherine Ng, head of policy and secretariat services at HKEX’s listing division.

“There is no doubt the ISSB standards are coming and they will be adopted internationally,” Ng said. “It is a matter of when, and it is not a matter of … [just] partially adopting it.”

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The bourse operator canvassed more than 50 large and small listed companies operating in different locations and industries, on what they needed in terms of capacity building to meet the proposed ISSB requirements, before reaching its conclusions, she said.

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