Malaysia takes a leadership role in driving holistic impact through sustainable investments

With Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues being top of the corporate agenda, we have seen a lot of companies incorporate ESG elements in their projects or investments. However, in recent years, the concern of greenwashing has resulted in increased attention by investors, buyers, and end-users as to what is truly sustainable or truly impactful.
 
First let us define both sustainable investing and impact investing. According to the CFA Institute, sustainable investing balances traditional investing with ESG insights to improve long-term outcomes. Meanwhile, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) defines impact investing as the deployment of funds into investments that generate a measurable and beneficial social or environmental impact alongside a financial return on investment (ROI).
 
So while sustainable investing does take into account ESG considerations, impact investing takes it one step further by setting quantifiable social and environmental ROI. Globally, US$2.3 trillion of assets have an intent for impact, of which US$636 billion of these assets clearly have impact management and measurement processes in place. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) believes the need to achieve the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) will require US$5-7 trillion in financing yearly. In 2022, Southeast Asia alone saw US$5.2 billion of green investments.
 
Malaysia’s leadership role in this space is two-fold: first, Malaysia leads the ASEAN-6 in the highest commitment to emission reductions (45% by 2030); and second, Malaysia’s global leadership in the Islamic bond or sukuk space has made it a pioneer for green or climate sukuk, having launched the world’s first green sukuk as far back as 2017.

This has been reflected in the financial ROI as well: public listed companies in Malaysia with ESG investments have been trading at higher valuation multiples, supported by higher shareholder returns and profitability. Companies in FTSE4Good Bursa Malaysia (F4GBM) Index have 1.7x higher price-to-book value, 16.6% average RoE (non-F4GBM companies: 9.5%), and 14.4% average net profit margin (non-F4GBM companies: 8.4%).
 
InvestKL, through its ESG & Sustainability ConneXion Centre (ESGS CXC), aims to advance sustainable businesses in Malaysia by creating new possibilities in community engagement, policy advocacy, and build leading capabilities by sharing industry knowledge in sustainability. Recognising Greater KL as a fertile ground for impact investing, InvestKL Cares bridges MNC investors and the dedicated local NGOs and community leaders in Greater KL, forging partnerships that drive meaningful and lasting change within the society. Dutch social fintech startup uPledge exemplifies this potential by using Greater KL as a hub to expand opportunities for impact startups through its Islamic-based crowdfunding platform. The company aims to revolutionise the industry by assisting investors in improving their financial wellness and creating a lasting impact through sustainable investing. With subsidiaries in Malaysia and Kenya, uPledge uses artificial intelligence to screen and filter sustainable startups and organisations, connecting them with investors through a single app. This approach not only supports community development but also encourages companies to start and grow their impact investment initiatives, fostering a more sustainable and equitable future.



Institutional funds walk the ESG talk

The ESG wave among local institutional funds is attributable to their joining the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) network of investors. Sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Berhad signed on in 2017, followed by the civil service pension fund KWAP in 2018 and Malaysia’s largest pension fund EPF in 2019.
 
EPF — which had RM702.48 billion in assets under management in December 2023 — aims to have a fully ESG-compliant portfolio by 2030 and a climate neutral portfolio by 2050.
 
Khazanah, via its Dana Impak (impact fund), identified RM500 million worth of projects in 2022 and developed its own impact assessment tool to measure societal value. In March 2024, Dana Impak committed another RM600 million to support startups in Malaysia.
 
These investments have become more vital, as the projects under the National Energy Transition Roadmap (NETR) aims to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by at least 10 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2eq) annually and create 23,000 high-impact job opportunities. Malaysia will establish a National Energy Transition Facility (NETF) with an initial seed fund of RM2 billion to support energy transition projects.



Sukuk - a sustainable stepping stone

In 2014, the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) introduced the Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI) Sukuk framework to facilitate financing needs for projects that meet the UN SDGs, and attract investors in the green, social, sustainable, and waqf (endowments) space.
 
Corporate SRI sukuk issuances in 2023 amounted to RM8.68 billion, while corporate SRI sukuk outstanding increased to RM26.32 billion as at December 2023. Issuances from Malaysia made up about 24% of the total issued under the ASEAN Standards.

Building on this, the SC launched Certified Capital Market Professional - Sustainable and Responsible Investment (CCMP-SRI) to develop talents for the SRI Ecosystem.



Accountability in the RE space

In April 2023, Solarpack Suria Sungai Petani Sdn Bhd (3SP), a unit of Spanish developer Solarpack (since rebranded to Zelestra) raised RM285 million through the issuance of green sukuk to refinance its 116-MWp solar plant which achieved commercial operations in March 2022.
 
3SP is an independent power producer (IPP) with a 21-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with national power company Tenaga Nasional Berhad. According to RAM Ratings, the plant’s initial energy output of 153.4 GWh for the first 11 months is already 0.5% above RAM’s stressed energy generation forecast, a level that is expected to sustainably exceed the PPA’s annual minimum required amount.



Impactful change via affordable housing


In January 2024, LBS Bina Group Bhd successfully issued its first tranche of ASEAN Social SRI Sukuk Wakalah of RM200 million under its newly established RM750 million Sukuk Wakalah Programme, with its proceeds tagged to affordable housing.

LBS plans to launch 10 new affordable housing projects in 2024, offering 4,858 units with a total gross development value (GDV) of RM2.33 billion, of which 1,361 units (GDV RM420 million) are. Rumah Idaman (Dream Home) projects. These are developed in partnership with Permodalan Negeri Selangor Berhad, a state government subsidiary under the supervision of Menteri Besar Selangor Incorporated (MBI). Rumah Idaman are structured to enable Selangor residents to own their first homes at low-interest and long-term financing rates. In addition, LBS will launch 393 units of Pangsapuri Saujana Indah apartments in Taman Molek, Johor, with a GDV of RM177 million.


Roof over people’s head: (From left) MGB Bhd group managing director Datuk Wira Joey Lim Hock Guan, Selangor MB Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari, MGB Bhd executive vice-chairman Tan Sri Lim Hock San, Sepang district officer Khairi Azali Ibrahim and Selangor Housing and Property Board executive director Datuk Dr Juhari Ahmad having a look at a model of the Idaman Melur development. Source: The Star




Investing in Waste-to-Energy

Inauguration of state-of-the-art Waste-to-Energy (SWTE) Plant at Bukit Tagar Enviro Park (BTEP), graced by esteemed guests including YBrs. Dr. Norhazni Binti Mat Sari from the DOE Malaysia and Mr. Koh Chee Yong, Managing Director of JBAM.
 Source: Pocket News

In March 2024, J&T Berjaya Alam Murni Sdn. Bhd. (JBAM) inaugurated its RM172 million scheduled Waste-to-Energy (SWTE) plant at Bukit Tagar Enviro Park (BTEP), Selangor. JBAM is a collaborative venture among Berjaya Enviro Holdings (BEnviro), J&T Recycling Corporation of Japan, and JFE Engineering (M) Sdn. Bhd.

This cutting-edge SWTE facility, integral to the Sustainable Scheduled Waste Treatment Centre, features a highly efficient thermal scheduled waste treatment system in compliance with the standards set by the Department of Environment (DOE) Malaysia.
Aligned with the Cradle-to-Cradle concept promoted by the DOE, BTEP’s modern facilities include a 12MW Landfill Gas to RE plant and the 100% Scheduled Waste to Alternative Raw Material (ARM) recycling plant. BTEP receives 3,000 tonnes of solid waste daily, with 30- 40% being biodegradable waste. The sanitary landfill and Landfill Gas to Renewable Energy Plant in BTEP converts 35% of wastes into renewable energy.
 
Scheduled waste can be used as raw material to produce cement because it contains similar elements found in natural raw materials like clay and limestone. Amita Berjaya Sdn Bhd (ABSB), under BEnviro, has been converting scheduled waste into ARM for cement making since 2017 via its co-processing technology with collaboration with Amita Corporation Japan. ABSB also produces alternative fuel as a replacement of coal in cement industries kilns.
 
The SWTE facility will be integrated with a sludge Drying Plant to harness heat energy from the SWTE’s thermal treatment process. The heat energy from SWTE enables the lowering of moisture content of wet scheduled wastes, hence, allowing for higher volume of scheduled waste co-processing by ABSB to enhance waste recycling initiatives.





Taking to the air for food security

In September 2022, global drone service provider Aerodyne Group raised US$30 million as part of its latest bridging round, with national oil company Petronas as the lead investor and pension fund KWAP providing a follow-on investment.

Aerodyne’s precision agriculture solution powered by in-house developed artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, serves more than 300,000 secured effective hectarage for major industry players in Malaysia, contributing to food security in the country.

Its Agrimor SuperApp allows farmers, agencies and agriculture service providers to request drones and pilots for agriculture seeding, spraying, plant analysis, mapping and more. Agrimor has resulted in 67% increase in crop yields and 50% reduction in the cost of food production.


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