Overview

The ASEAN Sustainable Finance State of the Market is a report series produced by the Climate Bonds Initiative that tracks the development of sustainable finance markets across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Its scope has expanded over time to cover green, social and sustainability debt, sustainability-linked instruments and transition finance.

Methodology

The series analyses thematic debt instruments using Climate Bonds Initiative databases, including its Green Bond Database, Social and Sustainability Bond Database, and Sustainability-Linked Bond and Transition Bond Database. Instruments are classified according to their labels, use of proceeds and financing purpose, with green instruments screened against Climate Bonds’ eligibility criteria. External datasets may supplement areas not fully tracked by Climate Bonds.

The analysis considers different sustainable debt themes and instrument types, including bonds, loans and sukuk. It also examines characteristics such as issuer type, country, currency, tenor and use of proceeds, alongside sustainable finance policies, taxonomies and transition-finance developments.

Purpose

The series provides a recurring assessment of the structure and development of ASEAN’s sustainable finance market. It is designed to document market activity while providing context on regulatory frameworks, taxonomies, transition finance and policies supporting sustainable capital markets across the region.

How finance professionals can use the series

Finance professionals can use the series to understand the structure and evolution of ASEAN sustainable debt markets, compare financing instruments and jurisdictions, and examine how sustainable finance frameworks and policies are developing. It can also support market research, sustainable debt analysis, benchmarking and assessment of financing approaches across ASEAN.

Year initiated

The series was initiated in 2018. The 2022 report identifies itself as the fifth iteration of the ASEAN State of the Market report series.