Leading homegrown financial services company Singlife announces that it is a co-seed investor of BlackRock’s iShares MSCI Asia ex-Japan Climate Action Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), which successfully listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) today. At US$426 million, the fund is the largest equity ETF launch in Singapore to-date.
Issued by BlackRock iShares, the market leader in sustainable indexing, the iShares MSCI Asia ex-Japan Climate Action ETF offers investors the attractive access to best-in-class companies in the Asia Pacific region addressing climate change.
Demand for the newly listed ETF is set to be bolstered by strong investor appetite with Asia Pacific being the largest and fastest growing region for energy transition investment. As of end-June 2023, the Asia Pacific ex-Japan ETF market reported year-to-date net inflows of nearly US$44.2 billion[1], the second highest on record.
The ETF tracks the MSCI Asia ex-Japan Climate Action Index which select the top 50% of companies in each Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®)[2] sector. The selection is based on climate indicators and factors including approved science-based targets, management of climate risks, and green business revenue.
Pearlyn Phau, Group Chief Executive Officer, Singlife said: “We are pleased to partner BlackRock, the world’s largest provider of ETFs, in supporting the net-zero transition as a co-seed investor in the iShares MSCI Asia ex-Japan Climate Action ETF. The timely launch and successful listing of this ETF presents an unparalleled opportunity for investors to invest in the climate transition. We look forward to seeing how it will drive returns for investors, while contributing to a greener future.”
“Asia Pacific is the largest and fastest growing region for energy transition investment, offering transformational opportunities for investors with climate-focused objectives,” Peter Loehnert, APAC Head of iShares and Index Investments, BlackRock, said. “Investors globally are increasingly choosing iShares ETFs as ideal vehicles to align portfolio allocations and implement low-carbon transition goals. This new fund will provide them with an innovative, unique and powerful building block to access companies in the region leading the transition. As the world’s largest provider of ETFs, our aim is to offer clients an unrivalled choice of products to help them achieve their investment goals, and we are pleased that our close partnership with SGX Group and MSCI has helped bring the fund to Singapore, a state that has had an outsized impact in global climate leadership.”
The BlackRock iShares MSCI Asia ex-Japan Climate Action ETF is the latest addition to Singlife’s sustainable investment portfolio.
As part of building a sustainable business and creating long-term positive impact through responsible investments, Singlife has invested in several sustainable funds since 2022. It has committed more than S$500 million into sustainable funds to date, including the Altrium Sustainability Fund I, launched by Azalea Investment Management and co-seeded by Singlife and sponsor, the Azalea Group, an indirect subsidiary of Temasek. It has also invested in Decarbonisation Partners, a joint venture private equity fund between BlackRock and Temasek that invests in the next generation of innovative decarbonisation solutions and businesses, as well as the Copenhagen Infrastructure Green Credit Fund.
[1] ETFGI reports ETFs industry in Asia Pacific ex Japan gathered net inflows of US$20.51 billion during May
[2] GICS® is the global industry classification standard jointly developed by MSCI and S&P Global Market Intelligence
