ASrIA - In Review

The ASrIA team sends you our best wishes for the New Year, and we take this opportunity to thank you for your ongoing support of our efforts to increase ESG disclosure by corporates and ESG analysis by investors in Asia.

2009 was a productive year for ASrIA, with the launch of two major research reports, addition of a new portal to our website, and the holding of a number of well attended briefing events. We also continued our focus on raising ESG disclosure standards in the region. Our membership held steady and we were pleased to attract several new members in recent months. There has also been a rise in our subscriber base and an increase in the hits and downloads from our website. Executive Team has been strengthened after a period of transition. Key events and initiatives during the year included:

Holding Sustainable Investment Round-Tables in Taipei and Hong Kong
Well attended briefings on renewable energy in China, on water strategy, and on the adoption of ESG by investors in China, held jointly with our members.
Launch of the ASrIA Philanthropic Investment Portal.

Key reports published included the ADB-sponsored 'The Time to Lead is Now' - part of an ongoing effort to encourage Asian government pension funds to adopt ESG analysis. - and the 'Carbon Disclosure Report for Asia ex-Japan 2009'. This is the fourth time that ASrIA has acted as coordinator for Asia for CDP. The findings were released at well attended events in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia and Thailand.

A comprehensive list of events ASrIA ran or participated in can be found at ASrIA event page. ASrIA members Credit Suisse, FTSE, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank kindly provided venues for several of our events and other ASrIA members were active speakers, panelists and participants.

ASrIA has lined up a number of major events for the coming year. Our opening event of 2010 was a briefing by ASrIA member FTSE on a practical approach to the application of ESG related indices, focusing on environmental opportunities. This will be followed by a series of events to launch the CDP process in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan. ASrIA is also partnering with TBLI on its annual Asia conference, to be held this year in Tokyo in May.

Our flagship ESG research initiative this year is a major project funded by the British Government to raise Asian investor awareness of the implications of climate change, and to provide investors with the necessary analytical tools. We are currently developing briefing packs for six major sectors of the Asian economy, and will be engaging with asset owners and managers in the region. We will also collaborate with you on the project's development.

ASrIA's research capabilities have been strengthened by the recruitment of research manager Dave Doré. Dave will coordinate the climate change research project with support from ASrIA executive directors Erik Floyd and David St. Maur Sheil, and outside consultants. Please feel welcome to contact Dave D. to set up conference calls or meetings to discuss key ESG related issues and trends in Asia.

ASrIA is also focusing on ESG training this year and has developed a set of ESG training modules. ASrIA will hold a full day training on ESG issues for an investor member in Vietnam in February and a half-day training with another member. Last year we participated in a training session in Beijing with ASrIA member, IFC. Please contact David St. Maur Sheil to talk about training and advisory service opportunities.

ASrIA has been through some executive and team changes over the last year, however we are entering the New Year with a strengthened team, built around the strong support of our Hong Kong based directors.

Our new Chair Alexandra Tracy has been very active in supporting the executive team, and presenting and chairing at events on behalf of ASrIA.

We also sincerely thank Rajesh Srivastava for his leadership of ASrIA as Chair over the last three years and are glad he remains as a fully supportive member of the Board.

Our new Executive team looks forward to meeting or connecting with you in the coming year.