124 experts and students met to discuss green financing and social impact investment
Expert discussion on sustainable financing featuring (from left) Mr Arun Asok (Bamboo Capital Partners), Mr Yibin Chu (Citi), Ms Priscilla Wuersch-Ng (IFC) and Assoc Prof James Crabtree (LKYSPP)
YES TO GREEN BONDS, NO TO 'CLEAN COAL'
“Investing in ‘clean coal’ is not a green option,” was one of many thought-provoking comments made at an expert discussion on international development and sustainable financing, organized recently by the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Career Services Office. The panel was a highlight of the Industry Night event on 24 Oct, co-organized with the Social Investment Group, a student group focused on social investment, impact investing and market convergence with sustainable development.
Ms Priscilla Wuersch-Ng, who is with the International Finance Corporation (World Bank Group) as an Associate Financial Officer in the Treasury Department based in Singapore, was on the panel of experts speaking on trends and practices in green financing and sustainable development. Joining her were Mr Arun Asok, Head of Asia Operations at Bamboo Capital Partners, a global impact investment fund and Mr Yibin Chu, Regional Head of Corporate Citizenship Asia Pacific, Citi.
Their discussion was moderated by Professor James Crabtree, Associate Professor in Practice at the LKY School,and ranged from deep dives into the nature of “green bonds” offered by the IFC to the challenges of investing in emerging markets.
Full house for the panel, followed by lively discussions between students and employer partners on finance, tech and development
'HIGHLY OPPORTUNE' DISCUSSION
Panellist Mr Asok said after the event: “It was an excellent mix of policy and administration students and industry colleagues from the development space coming together to discuss some of the pressing social and environmental challenges that we face.”
Several employer partners took up tables at the event to connect with students about their work. These partners included the Asia Pacific Leaders Malaria Alliance; Asia Pacific Malaria Elimination Network (APMEN); Blackpeak; Control Risks; Fidelium Group; Impact Investment Exchange (IIX); Insitor Partners Pte Ltd; Red Flag Consulting; REDHILL; Singapore Centre for Social Enterprise; The Stakeholder Company; and The World Bank Group, including its International Finance Corporation (IFC).
“The timing of this discussion was highly opportune as sustainable finance is an emerging key theme globally, cross cutting all sectors. I am delighted to be able to share IFC’s contributions in this spectrum from a practitioner’s viewpoint. The questions posed to the panelists proved that students were able to understand the complementary role that public policy and private sector can play in bringing Sustainable Finance to the next level.”
- MS PRISCILLA WUERSCH-NG ASSOCIATE FINANCIAL OFFICER IFC (WORLD BANK GROUP)
“A great opportunity to present social impact investing to future professionals”
- INSITOR PARTNERS
"Plenty of engaging discussions today!"
- FIDELIUM GROUP
To find out more about future industry nights and related events, write to decb64_bGt5c3BwY2FyZWVyc2VydmljZXNAbnVzLmVkdS5zZw==_decb64