The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) welcomes the endorsement by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) (Note 1) of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards published by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) (Note 2).
The ISSB standards aim to serve as a global framework for investor-focused corporate sustainability disclosures. IOSCO’s endorsement signals to its 130 member securities regulators to adopt, apply or make reference to the standards in addressing sustainability-related risks and opportunities.
The SFC will work with relevant Government bureaux, other financial regulators and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (SEHK) to develop a comprehensive roadmap for adoption of the ISSB standards in Hong Kong. As an initial move in this direction, SEHK’s proposed disclosure requirements for listed companies (Note 3) made reference to the ISSB’s exposure draft for climate-related disclosures and its further deliberations. The final SEHK requirements will take account of the consultation responses and the final ISSB standards.
Global investors and capital providers need this set of consistent information to make informed investment decisions, and meet their own reporting obligations, which are becoming mandatory in Europe and increasingly across key jurisdictions.
“Hong Kong’s financial institutions and their corporate customers must be well versed in the ISSB standards to capture the huge opportunities in transition finance,” said Ms Julia Leung, the SFC’s Chief Executive Officer. “Companies risk having international capital bypass them if they do not begin to take the first step in aligning their sustainability disclosures with this global framework.”
Notes:
- IOSCO is a body of securities regulators worldwide which develops, implements and promotes adherence to internationally recognised standards for securities regulation. Its membership regulates more than 95% of the world’s securities markets in over 130 jurisdictions.
- On 26 June 2023, the ISSB published the IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures.
- In April 2023, SEHK released a public consultation on new climate-related reporting requirements for Hong Kong listed companies. The consultation ended on 14 July 2023.
