BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 26. Kazakh Agency for Regulation and Development of Financial Market has signed a Cooperation Agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) on joint development of Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) standards and development of green finance in Kazakhstan, Trend reports citing Agency.
Kazakh Agency will prepare following three key documents together with IFC, as a result of implementation of Cooperation Agreement:
1 Action Plan (roadmap) for introduction of sustainable and "green" finance in Kazakhstan
2 Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) Risk Management Guidelines for Financial Institutions
3 ESG Disclosure Guidelines for Financial Institutions.
"Financial markets are a key tool for redistributing financial flows and investments in more sustainable and "green" projects and industries. Taking into account Kazakhstan's commitment to the transition to a sustainable economy, the introduction of ESG principles in the financial market is becoming especially relevant,” Chairman of Agency Madina Abylkassymova said.
“Signing of Cooperation Agreement between Agency and IFC will allow applying best practices and best international practices in the sphere of sustainable development in the regulation of financial institutions," she added said.
IFC’s Regional Manager for Central Asia Cassandra Colbert noted that “the role of financial regulators is becoming increasingly important in introducing principles and tools for integrating ESG and climate change into the strategy and business model of financial institutions.”
“IFC is a standards developer and a leader in promoting sustainability as a key factor in the development of the financial sector at the global level. We are pleased to assist Kazakh Agency in establishing a methodological framework for the development of sustainable financing and ESG standards, which will be driven by the competitive financial sector of Kazakhstan," Colbert added.