Investments

Mirae Asset Launches Global X Bloomberg MSCI Asia Ex Japan Green Bond ETF

Mirae Asset Global Investments (Hong Kong) Limited (the "Firm" or "Mirae Asset) has announced the launch of its first fixed income ETF, the Global X Bloomberg MSCI Asia Ex Japan Green Bond ETF.

The fund will provide exposure to investment grade, USD-denominated green bonds issued by issuers in the Asia Ex Japan region to fund projects with direct and measurable environmental benefits.

The fund, which has begun trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, is the Firm's third Hong Kong-listed ETF to be recognized by the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong as an ESG fund and is the world's first green bond ETF focused on the Asia Ex Japan region, Mirae Asset Management said in a press release.

Green bonds are fixed income securities whose proceeds are exclusively and formally applied to projects or activities that promote climate or other environmental sustainability purposes. Green bond issuance in Asia has risen exponentially as governments, government-related entities and corporations are increasingly using green bonds to finance climate action projects. According to the Climate Bonds Initiative, Asia Pacific is the world's second biggest issuer of green bonds with a cumulative total of US$371.7 billion in 2021, and the world's fastest growing issuer with year-on-year growth of 129%.

The fund's index uses an independent research-driven methodology performed by MSCI ESG Research to evaluate index-eligible green bonds and ensure they adhere to the Green Bond Principles. The research includes an assessment of the bonds' stated use of proceeds, process for green project evaluation and selection, process for the management of proceeds and the commitment to ongoing reporting on the environmental performance of the use of proceeds. Bonds that use proceeds for at least one of six environmental categories qualify as being eligible: alternative energy, energy efficiency, pollution prevention and control, sustainable water, green building and climate adaptation.

Jung Ho RHEE, Chief Executive Officer of Mirae Asset Global Investments (Hong Kong) Limited, said: "With Asia Pacific accounting for around half of the world's carbon emissions and temperatures in the region rising twice as much as the global average[4], urgent action is required to tackle climate change. The Global X Bloomberg MSCI Asia Ex Japan Green Bond ETF enables investors to align their portfolios with sustainability objectives and invest in climate action projects that have a positive environmental impact. Green bonds also offer the means for investors to access stable and sustainable income and can be used to add defensive resilience to portfolios".

The Global X Bloomberg MSCI Asia Ex Japan Green Bond ETF tracks the Bloomberg MSCI Asia Ex Japan USD Green Bond Index.