AMF publishes Guidance Note on 'Sovereign Sustainable Instruments' for Arab region

ABU DHABI – The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) in cooperation with World Bank Group, and The Gulf Capital Market Association has issued a Guidance Note on “Sovereign Sustainable Instruments for the Arab region”. The note is issued under the framework of the Fund's endeavours to promote awareness of the requirements for developing the green and sustainable agenda in the Arab region. The guidance note aims to promote awareness of ESG investing in the sovereign debt asset class and how it pertains to sovereign issuers in the Arab region. It also provides regional policymakers with an insight into these key developments, to help promote a supportive ecosphere for sustainable finance including the local capital markets and banking sectors. This guidance note takes stock of recent ESG sovereign market trends and opportunities, the sovereign debt management perspective, complementarity between sovereign sustainability-linked instruments and the traditional use of proceeds model, the diverse global and regional guidelines and frameworks, as well as challenges and complexities surrounding the issuance of Sovereign Sustainable Instruments including green washing concerns and how they can be addressed. It also highlights other regions and countries’ experiences with issuing labeled instruments. Moreover, the guidance note includes a glossary on sustainable finance terms related to ESG activities. The note draws on an AMF survey on Sovereign Sustainable Instruments conducted in 2022, which provides insights into relevant Arab Agencies perception on the topic. It also sheds light on the main milestones of policies adopted by Arab countries to address climate change and sustainable finance. The guidelines derive a set of policy recommendations that support officials in Arab countries in their decisions to introduce Sovereign Sustainable Instruments, the related requirements, and how to put in place a fully-fledged enabling environment. Moreover, the guidance note outlines recommendations and actions for policymakers in adopting Sovereign Sustainable Instruments. These are classified into three main interrelated areas, namely: (i) a policy perspective, (ii) a debt management perspective, and (iii) an issuer perspective. Noting that the guidelines is a product of collaboration between the Arab Monetary Fund, the World Bank Group, and The Gulf Capital Market Association, it has profited from the insights of many regional and international experts. Commenting on this guidance note, Dr. Abdulrahman A Al-Hamidy, Director General Chairman of the Board of the Arab Monetary Fund, praised the collaborative work with industry players backing the guidelines. He referred to the great opportunities of embracing green and sustainable finance and expressed his wish that the guidance note would contribute to developing the capacities of officials in the region to deploy such instruments. Finally, He stressed that developing a regional ESG taxonomy would be an area for further exploration, aiming to support robust regulations and practices while directing investments toward ESG projects and activities.

AMF publishes Guidance Note on 'Sovereign Sustainable Instruments' for Arab region

DISCOVER MORE

Franklin Templeton, Akamai defend sustainable investments amid backlash

Saudi banks: $111.2mln investment by banks within its social responsibility in 2022

Water scarcity worsening with 'imminent risk' of global crisis: UN report

Etihad Esco to set up new renewable power plant in Dubai

UAE’s Masdar, Egypt’s Infinity JV buy full stake in Africa’s Lekela Power

Majid Al Futtaim in 6.2MWp Bahrain solar plant installation

UAE: Majority of residents willing to pay more for eco-friendly travel trips

IDB Invest, Banco de Bogota announce $230mln sustainability bond

GCC central banks track US Fed move; hike key rates by 25bps

Dubai's Meraas to build new residential towers in Design District

VIDEO: LSE-listing will facilitate more funding opportunities for us, Dar Global CEO

Dubai’s Emirates to add value, support Air India – Tim Clark

Abu Dhabi's Mubadala, Ares set up $1bln JV to invest in credit secondaries

Spain’s Acciona cuts GHG emission, remains on track to achieve decarbonisation target by 2030

EU bids to clean up product 'greenwashing' mess

IFC Partners with Egypt’s CIB in managing climate risk

ESG and impact of COP28 on regional sustainability trends

Shell rules out more ambitious goal for end-user emissions

LATEST VIDEO

VIDEO: LSE-listing will facilitate more funding opportunities for us, Dar Global CEO

ZAWYA COVERAGE

Kenya signs $250mln deal with UK to boost food production

PODCAST: IFC is ready to back governments privatisation plans with capital

UAE's Presight AI to debut on Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange next week

Dubai's DEPA posts higher revenue for 2022 on post-COVID recovery

Binance says working on issue impacting spot trading on cryto platform

Databricks pushes open-source chatbot as cheaper ChatGPT alternative

India's forex reserves rise to over six-week high

Portugal 2022 budget deficit narrows sharply to 0.4% of GDP

Pakistan forex reserves up $280mln to $4.6bln on March 17

THE BRI REPORT

China is reshaping the Belt and Road Initiative ahead of a post-pandemic era

DISCOVER MORE

LATEST VIDEO

ZAWYA NEWSLETTERS

ZAWYA COVERAGE