Asian investors call for more disclosure on environmental and social issues

Asian issuers do, however, stand out in their acceptance that the level of disclosure is likely to
increase and that this is ultimately a good thing – some 32% (up from 18% last year) of them think
this, which is notably higher than their peers in Europe (20%) and the Americas (15%).

In particular, some 40% of Singapore issuers give this response – the highest percentage across the
region. By comparison, 37% of issuers in China and 28% of issuers in Hong Kong say the same.

Part of this obviously reflects a view among these issuers that they are not disclosing enough
information, whether voluntarily or under legal requirement.

Importantly, Asian investors think that companies being legally obliged to make disclosures would be
most helpful to them in trying to invest sustainably. Also important are accounting rules being
reformed so company accounts include sustainability data, and companies improving their
disclosure voluntarily.

These are some of the same needs of investors in other regions. There are differences in view, too,
and especially in how investors assess the quality of information issuers currently provide.

Indeed, Asian investors, together with their peers in MENAT, are the only investors who most clearly
judge environmental disclosures provided by companies they invest in as inadequate.

In fact, about half of investors in these three regions say this, compared to about a fifth of investors
in the Americas and 37% of investors in Europe. Some issuers in the region are, however, clearly
doing a better job: 37% of Asian investors think companies’ environmental disclosures are adequate
and 17% say they are excellent.

On social disclosures, Asian companies receive marginally better marks from investors. While 42%
judge the information is inadequate, some 38% say it is adequate, and 22% excellent.