February 2nd was VietNam Holding‘s first corporate ESG day. During the VNH and VietNam Holding Asset Management board meetings in Hanoi, both boards plus the investment team of VNHAM held a full day workshop on the key components of VNH‘s enhanced ESG focus. The workshop included a selected list of outside participants from various governmental offices and invitees from other financial institutions. The event was opened by a senior representative of the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the host organization for the Vietnam Business Council for Sustainable Development, of which VNH is a co-founder. The workshop was chaired by David St. Maur Sheil, the Joint Executive Director of ASrIA, the Association for Sustainable & Responsible Investment in Asia.

Given the extensive background of most participants in Corporate Social Responsibility as well as in Corporate Governance, most discussions focused on environmental risks as the new element of VNH‘s ESG policy. We reviewed the industry-specific environmental risks. In an effort to enhance our insights into these environmental risks, we refined the assignments of the key industries among our analysts and investment officers. We also designated a specific VNH or VNHAM Board Member to work closely with one of our Investment Officers to further expand our collective understanding of the environmental opportunities and pitfalls in the industries in which VNH invests.