UPDATE: This event is SOLD OUT. Thank you for your interest!
Synopsis
A rapidly changing climate represents a potent, unprecedented and irreversible threat to habitats, societies and economies around the globe. In 2015 almost 200 leaders signed the Paris Climate Agreement, committing countries to transition to a lower carbon economy and limit the global average temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial times.
Over the past years, many countries have introduced new initiatives and financial products to expand sustainable finance. Despite this encouraging momentum, the deployment of private capital for sustainable finance is still constrained due to a variety of institutional and market barriers. Public finance alone may not be sufficient to meet the demands for sustainable finance as the global economy continues to grow and poses increasing burdens on our resources and ecosystems. Join us on the 28th of April and discover how the public and private sector will help us transition from carbon-intensive activities to a cleaner future.
During this Webinar on Sustainable Finance, three European companies: ING, Swiss-Re and the World Gold Council will present their sustainability initiatives and projects to EuroCham members, government representatives, stakeholders, university students and alumni. Following the presentation, the speakers will be joined by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the World Wildlife Fund representative to share their knowledge and best practices. The discussion will be moderated by a professor from NUS Business School. The session is in proud collaboration with SwissCham Singapore.
Programme
4:45 pm Webinar waiting room opens
5:00 pm Welcome Address
- Federico DONATO, President of EuroCham
5:10 pm Introductory remarks
- Barbara PLINKERT, EU Ambassador to Singapore
5:20 pm Opening and introduction of the speakers
- Johan SULAEMAN, Associate Professor, Dean’s Chair NUS
5:30 pm Presentations
- ING, Herry CHO
- Swiss Re, Ieva SEGURA COBOS
- World Gold Council, Andrew NAYLOR
6:00 pm Panel Discussion and Q&A
- Moderated by: Johan SULAEMAN
Additional Panellists:
- Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Gillian TAN
- World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Dr. Helena WRIGHT
6:30 pm End of Programme
Our Speakers
Herry CHO
Head of Sustainable Finance Asia Pacific
ING
Ms Cho launched ING’s Sustainable Finance regional franchise in 2017, and spearheaded the regional sustainability direction since 2015. She leads the origination and execution of sustainable finance transactions including green/social/sustainability bonds and loans in Asia Pacific, and broader sustainability advisory. Her clients include leading banks, corporates and conglomerates in the region.
Ms Cho leverages on a broad financial background having worked in Mergers and Acquisitions Advisory, Capital Structuring and Advisory, and Equity & Debt Capital Markets for ING. Currently based in Singapore, Ms Cho has previously worked in Hong Kong, London and Amsterdam. She has led a number of sustainable financing firsts in the region across green and social bonds/loans, and sustainability linked loans where the loan pricing is linked to ESG performance.
She is on the Executive Committee Board of International Capital Market Association (ICMA)’s Green/Social/Sustainability Bond Principles, the sustainability lead on the APAC regional committee of ICMA and on the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association’s Green Finance Committee to shape the sustainable finance markets in this region and globally. Ms Cho is a regular speaker in high profile conferences and events, and holds a combined Bachelors and Masters (MBioch) Degree in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry from the University of Oxford, UK.
Ieva SEGURA COBOS
Head of Regulatory Risk Management Asia
Swiss Re Asia Limited, Singapore
Ieva has recently moved to Singapore to head Swiss Re’s Regulatory Risk Management Asia. In this role, she develops Swiss Re’s advocacy strategy in key policy areas such as climate change and sustainability, tech and digital regulation, and ensures that the company has clear positions for engagement with regulators and policymakers across the region. She also has responsibility for identifying and monitoring sustainability and emerging risks for the business in Asia.
Prior to this role, she was based in London and led Swiss Re’s regulatory team for Europe, Middle East and Africa. In that capacity, she worked closely with the European institutions and regulators in developing insurance regulation on sustainability topics, including the taxonomy for sustainable investments. She also acted as an Associate Chair of the Reinsurance Advisory Board, an external body of Europe’s largest reinsurance firms, and a member of the Board of Directors of the European Financial Services Roundtable, which represents the interests of Europe’s largest banks and insurers.
Originally from Lithuania, Ieva holds a Master’s from the London School of Economics (UK) in International Political Economy and a BA from the University of British Colombia (Canada) in Economics and International Relations. Before joining Swiss Re in 2015, she worked in the Strategic Partnership team at the World Economic Forum (Switzerland) and at the UK Parliament.
Andrew NAYLOR
Executive Director, Head of Public Policy
World Gold Council
Andrew Naylor joined the World Gold Council in 2016. He is head of ASEAN, Australia, Japan and Korea. In this role he is overseeing the expansion of the World Gold Council’s activities in the region, including a renewed focus on investment. He is also global head of public policy and is responsible for the Council’s regulatory and policy initiatives.
Prior to the World Gold Council, Andrew worked for international consultancy firm Cicero Group advising financial institutions on foreign investment, the regulatory reform agenda and trade policy in Asia and Europe. Andrew sits on the management committee of the Singapore Bullion Market Association (SBMA). He was a board member of the European Chamber of Commerce in Singapore from 2012 to 2019. Andrew regularly gives broadcast media commentary on global and political economic developments on the BBC, Sky News, Channel NewsAsia and CNBC. Andrew has a degree from the London School of Economics and Political Science and the College of Law of England and Wales.
Our Panelists
Gillian TAN
Executive Director Financial Markets Development Department
Monetary Authority of Singapore
Gillian Tan is the Executive Director of the Financial Markets Development Department at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The department aims to promote a vibrant financial market in Singapore, with a focus on developing the capital market, asset management and insurance sectors, and to foster a sound and innovative technology, payments and exchange infrastructure.
Dr. Helena WRIGHT
Vice President
WWF Singapore
Dr. Helena Wright is Vice President at WWF in Singapore where her work focuses on sustainable infrastructure and energy finance, including leading on the topic of sustainable infrastructure finance in WWF’s global network. Prior to joining WWF, Helena worked for think tank E3G on sustainable finance and has also worked for the UK Government on international climate finance. Helena has previously worked for the United Nations based in Bangkok, and has advised businesses on renewable energy and resource efficiency. She has published several book chapters and articles on sustainability in peer-reviewed journals, and was a contributory author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC). Helena completed her PhD and Masters degree at Imperial College London, and holds an undergraduate degree from Cambridge University.
Our Moderator
Johan SULAEMAN
Dean’s Chair and Associate Professor Finance
NUS Business School
Johan SULAEMAN is a Dean’s Chair and an Associate Professor in the Department of Finance at the NUS Business School. He is currently the Academic Director of the NUS MSc (Finance) Programme. He recently served as the Research Director of the Centre for Asset Management Research & Investments (CAMRI). He obtained his PhD in Finance from University of Texas at Austin (McCombs). He received his Masters of Financial Engineering (MFE) from the Haas School at the University of California, Berkeley, and his BSE in Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan.
He teaches in various educational programs, including executive education, in courses involving portfolio theory, equity, fixed income assets, options, futures, investment strategies, and risk management. His current research interests focus on the effects of geographic factors on various economic outcomes. He also works on research questions related to the effects of ownership structure on corporate decisions, and the role of various economic agents in disturbing and maintaining market efficiency.
STUDENT TICKETS ARE NOW SOLD OUT – thank you for your interest.
Students from partnering universities are invited to join, free of charge. Partnering universities; NUS, NTU, SMU, EDHEC, ESSEC & INSEAD.
There are limited student tickets available.
Registration Guidelines – For All Registrants
Please follow these simple steps for easy registration to our webinar.
Step 1: Register below. You will receive an automated registration confirmation email from EuroCham.
Step 2: Prior to the event, a Zoom registration link will be sent if payment has been received. (Payment by PayPal, PayNow/ PayLah/ QR Code preferred). Please watch out for this second email.
Step 3: Using the link provided in the second email, register on Zoom (requires the same First Name, Last Name and Email that you used for registration on the EuroCham website).
Step 4: Upon successful registration on Zoom, you will receive a confirmation which you can save on your calendar. Please enter the virtual meeting 15 minutes prior to the start of the event.
Thank you for your understanding.
Kindly note that there are limited seats available, registration is binding and payment is non-refundable. The organisers reserve the right to change the programme content without giving prior notification or any reasons thereof.
TICKETS ARE NOW SOLD OUT – thank you for your interest.