GPCA Southeast Asia Members Program

GPCA hosted its first Members-only Meeting of 2023 on 17 February 2023, from 4-5:30 pm SGT at the IFC Office in Singapore.

The interactive discussion leveraged an unparalleled network of senior industry investors, professionals, and sustainability leaders on their views on emerging ESG risks in Southeast Asia.

Key takeaways from the discussion included:

• There is growing awareness that the physical and transition risks of climate change are impacting the operations of companies, as well as investment returns. Investors must assess impacts early in the due diligence phase and underextend the costs of applying resilient measures to protect assets in the investment phase.
• With forced labor prevalent across Southeast Asia, ensuring responsible sourcing is critical, especially as governments and consumers take action against those not complying with national labor laws and international best practices.
• Companies in Asia are increasingly hit by ransomware attacks; cyber risks are ever increasing due to lack of preparedness and structural issues. Investors need to invest in robust software to detect and fix vulnerabilities found in systems in addition to cybersecurity awareness training.

A copy of the data presentation from the Meeting can be downloaded here. For questions, please reach out to Ethan Koh at ekoh@gpcapital.org.