This publication provides an overview of institutional investors’ interest in green bonds issued in Thailand, along with an assessment of the perspectives of local arrangers and underwriters on their clients’ interest in green bond issuance. It presents the results of a survey to help identify market drivers, impediments, and development priorities for Thailand’s sustainable finance market. The findings and insights in this publication can help the Asian Development Bank in identifying how to support market development.

This publication provides an overview of institutional investors’ interest in green bonds issued in the Philippines, along with an assessment of the perspectives of local arrangers and underwriters on their clients’ interest in green bond issuances. It presents the results of a survey to help identify drivers, impediments, and development priorities for the Philippines’ sustainable finance market. The findings and insights presented in this publication are intended to inform how the Asian Development Bank and other partners could further support the market’s development.

This publication provides an overview of institutional investors’ interest in green bonds issued in Malaysia, along with an assessment of the perspectives of local arrangers and underwriters on their clients’ interest in green bond issuances. It presents the results of a survey to help identify drivers, impediments, and development priorities for Malaysia’s sustainable finance market. The findings and insights presented in this publication are intended to inform how the Asian Development Bank and other partners could further support the market’s development.

This publication provides an overview of institutional investors’ interest in green bonds issued in Indonesia, along with an assessment of the perspectives of local arrangers and underwriters on their clients’ interest in green bond issuances. It presents the results of a survey to help identify drivers, impediments, and development priorities for Indonesia’s sustainable finance market. The findings serve as a resource to inform action to accelerate the market’s development. The publication was prepared in collaboration with the Global Green Growth Institute.

China’s bond market is destined to play an increasingly important role, both at home and abroad. And the inclusion of the country’s bonds in global indexes will be a milestone for its financial market integration, bringing big opportunities as well as challenges for policymakers and investors alike. This calls for a good understanding of China’s bond market structure, its unique characteristics, and areas where reforms are needed. This volume comprehensively analyzes the different segments of China’s bond market, from sovereign, policy bank, and credit bonds, to the rapidly growing local government bond market. It also covers bond futures, green bonds, and asset-backed securities, as well as China’s offshore market, which has played a major role in onshore market development.

Despite exhibiting remarkable growth, the green bond market still represents less than 1 percent of the global bond market. This paper identifies two challenges that might slow the adoption of green bonds and presents a menu of responses that policymakers, regulators, and public financial institutions can use to offset these challenges. Specifically, it explores two key dimensions: (i) the risk profile of the green bond instrument and (ii) the transaction costs associated with issuance of and reporting on green bonds. New approaches to risk design and technology-based approaches are essential to untap the potential of green bond markets, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean and other developing regions. The incorporation of financial mechanisms such as covered bonds and guarantees can adequately address the risk of the issues, making the market more attractive for investors. Enhanced regulation and education and leveraging efficiencies of new technologies such as distributed ledger technologies can substantially reduce monitoring and reporting costs, while improving transparency in the use of proceeds and market integrity.

The ASEAN+3 Bond Market Guide series provides member-specific information on the investment climate, rules, laws, opportunities, and characteristics of local bond markets in Asia and the Pacific. It aims to help bond market issues, investors, and financial intermediaries understand the local context and encourage greater participation in the region’s rapidly developing bond markets. This edition focuses on updates in the bond market in Thailand since the publication of the ASEAN+3 Bond Market Guide for Thailand in 2016.

This handbook deals with various financial instruments, policies, and strategies in a policy-oriented approach for financing green energy projects. Recently, global investment in renewables and energy efficiency has declined, and there is a risk that it will slow further, Clearly, fossil fuels still dominate energy investments. This trend could threaten the expansion of green energy needed to meet energy security, climate, and clean-air goals. Several developed and developing economies are still following pro-coal energy policies. The extra CO2 generated from new coal-fired power plants could more than eliminate any reductions in emissions made by other nations. Finance is the engine of development of infrastructural projects, including energy projects. By providing several thematic and country chapters, this handbook explains that if we plan to achieve sustainable development goals, we need to create opportunities for new green projects and scale up the financing of investments that furnish environmental benefits. New financial instruments and policies such as green bonds, green banks, carbon market instruments, fiscal policy, green central banking, fintech, and community-based green funds are among the chief components that make up green finance. Naoyuki Yoshino is Dean, Asian Development Bank Institute and Professor Emeritus, Keio University. Jeffery Sachs is Director, Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University. Wing Thye Woo is Professor of Economics, U.C. Davis. Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary is Assistant Professor, Waseda University.

Thailand has adopted ambitious clean energy targets to meet its long-term climate goals, committing to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2065. Transforming Thailand’s energy system, alongside broader development objectives, is critical to meeting these goals as the energy sector accounts for 69% of Thailand’s total GHG emissions. The Clean Energy Finance and Investment Roadmap of Thailand (“the Roadmap”) outlines key actions to unlock finance and investment in two clean energy sectors: (i) renewable power, with special attention to small-scale renewable power systems; and (ii) energy efficiency in buildings, with a focus on cooling applications. The two sectors were selected in close consultation with the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE) of the Ministry of Energy of Thailand. The Roadmap provides a comprehensive overview of the progress to date, policy context and challenges to mobilise near-term finance in those sectors, as well as estimates of the finance needs to reach Thailand’s clean energy plans. The report also includes a roadmap action plan, suggesting non-prescriptive recommendations and actions that the Government of Thailand, financial institutions, energy service companies, academia and the international development community active in the country could undertake to foster clean energy investments in Thailand.