HONG KONG, Sept. 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Hong Kong Green Finance Association ("HKGFA"), together with the Greater Bay Area Green Finance Alliance ("GBA-GFA"), held the ninth HKGFA Annual Forum and the sixth GBA-GFA Annual Meeting in Hong Kong, themed "Bridging Divides: Asia's Leadership in Transition and Resilience", launching the third edition of Hong Kong Green Week to advance dialogue and collaboration on the pivotal issues for Asia's sustainable growth.

The Forum gathered senior representatives from governments, regulators, financial institutions, enterprises, innovators and ecosystem partners from twenty jurisdictions to discuss how to deepen collaboration and innovation in green tech and finance, as geopolitics reshape trade and financial flows across the climate and nature agenda. Over 1,800 attended the hybrid event.

As part of the GBA-GFA Annual Meeting, GBA officials presided over the handover ceremony of the Presidency from Shenzhen to Hong Kong and discussed the achievements and market updates in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macao. With GBA integration accelerating, the alliance members continue to bridge innovation and growing climate capital to compound the GBA's decarbonisation efforts.

The Forum featured the official launch of the Green Accelerator, a new Hong Kong–based platform designed to prepare bankable green projects, primarily for emerging market and developing economies, that meet the investment criteria of multilateral development banks, sovereign wealth funds, and commercial financial institutions. It also showcased green and transition-enabling technologies, with a strong emphasis on collaboration and ecosystem-building across the public-private sectors and the civil society.

In addition to macroeconomic views, policy development and thought leadership perspectives shared by government, public and private sector, the Forum highlighted Hong Kong's strategic position enabling green capital, policy initiatives and real economy transition needs in the GBA, ASEAN, and the Global South. Participants discussed the need for interoperability of standards and frameworks to mobilise more public and private capital for climate mitigation, adaptation and nature-positive investments.

The Forum was officiated by senior government officials from Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland, including Mr. Christopher Hui, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR); Mr. Cheng Wen, Deputy Director General of Guangdong's Local Financial Regulatory Bureau; Ms. Henrietta Lau, Executive Director, Monetary Authority of Macao; Ms. Yu Jin, Director of Division, Department of Economic and Financial Affairs I, Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; and Mr. Arthur Yuen, Acting Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).

Mr. Christopher Hui, The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, said, "As a global financial hub, Hong Kong has been at the forefront of facilitating green investment and sustainable infrastructure development across participating economies, leveraging our deep capital markets and professional expertise to structure bankable projects and de-risk investments. The Green Accelerator launched today represents the next phase of this bridging function. Endorsed in this year's Budget and developed with Mainland and international multilateral financial institutions, this initiative is designed to transform green technologies into investable, scalable projects in emerging markets and developing economies. By providing systematic pre-finance support and project structuring, it addresses a critical bottleneck: the shortage of investment-ready green projects. This initiative will channel private capital towards climate solutions where it is most needed, while creating new opportunities for Hong Kong's professional services."

Dr. Ma Jun, Chairman and President, HKGFA, said, "2026 will be a decisive year for Asia's sustainable finance market. As climate risks intensify, there is an urgent need to move from pilot projects to scaled deployment of green and transition capital. Hong Kong, as an international financial centre and a core GBA city, is uniquely positioned as a "super connector" and "super value-adder", linking global standards with local implementation, and channelling capital from developed markets to emerging economies, particularly in ASEAN and the Global South. Through platforms such as the GBA-GFA, Capacity-building Alliance of Sustainable Investment (CASI), and the Green Accelerator, we aim to foster innovation, strengthen regional connectivity, and support a just and orderly transition for the real economy."

Mr. Arthur Yuen, Acting Chief Executive of the HKMA, said, "The ambition to drive climate transition and build climate resilience is strong across Asia. As the region's premium sustainable finance hub, Hong Kong strives to give global capital the certainty it needs to move beyond vision to action. The publication of Phase 2B Taxonomy prototype today is another key step towards this direction. We encourage all stakeholders to actively participate in the public consultation and put the taxonomy to good use."

Highlights of the 2026 HKGFA Forum | GBA-GFA Annual Meeting

The morning fireside chat, moderated by Dr. Ma Jun, featured C-suite leaders, who examined how financing for transition; nature and biodiversity; and climate adaptation and resilience continues to be embedded into business operations. Despite sustained geopolitical uncertainties, banks remain committed to channelling capital towards sustainability solutions, including green technology, new energy, and AI infrastructure, to strengthen the sustainable finance market. This was followed by a review of GBA-GFA's 2025-26 achievements in fostering innovation and advancing climate finance through taxonomy development, which will be continued under HKGFA's stewardship during the 2026-27 term.

Summary of the Panel Discussions

• Capital Catalysts for Real Economy Transition
  Innovative products are key to unlocking capital for system-wide infrastructure transformation across Asian markets, such as the use of transition credits to incentivise the phaseout of hard-to-abate sectors. To inspire investor confidence and build trust at scale, funding mechanisms and harmonised frameworks, such as blended finance and credible transition pathways with KPIs, must be deployed as safeguards.
• De-risking Green and Transition Investments: Steering Investment Portfolios, Risk and Opportunity in Evolving Markets
  The growing suite of sustainable finance regulations, indicators, and market products enables decision-useful information infrastructure for investors but also poses fragmentation risks deterring capital mobilisation. Asia is presented with opportunities to strike a balance and chart a more pragmatic course on the transition journey.
• Bridging the Finance Gap for Climate Adaptation and Resilience
  Physical risks are rapidly materialising as the climate financing gap widens. As a countermeasure, the market has pioneered creative solutions, such as catastrophe bonds and resilient credits. Over the next decade, de-risking portfolios through product innovation, especially across climate-vulnerable regions, will be key to developing a prudential risk management strategy to ensure the credibility and success of adaptation solutions.
• Financing Nature's Infrastructure Paradigm
  Nature and biodiversity elements are increasingly reflected in investment strategies, thereby inspiring nature-resilient solutions, including blue bonds, nature-labelled debts, and debt-for-nature swaps. New infrastructure projects, namely the Northern Metropolis, will be a critical testing ground for disciplined nature financing, along with stewardship and project aggregation, to drive systemic change in the real economy.

HKGFA is committed to strategic ecosystem-building through deepening collaborations among regulators, financial institutions, corporates, technology providers, and the civil society. HKGFA, in collaboration with ADM Capital Foundation, Blue Bond Accelerator, and The Nature Conservancy released the white paper, "Developing Hong Kong as a Nature Financing Hub: A case for advancing nature and blue bonds", in addition to the white paper, "Financing resilience at scale: Water conservancy REITs & water asset/ revenue backed securities", in collaboration with CWR and HSBC. The newly elected HKGFA working group chairs and planned initiatives for 2026-28 aim to further empower high-integrity sustainable finance market infrastructures and enhance talent development to unlock capital for Asia's transition while reinforcing climate resilience in the region.

The 2026 HKGFA | GBA-GFA Annual Forum was sponsored by Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited; DBS; Standard Chartered; The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited; J.P. Morgan Asset Management; Moody's; Natixis Corporate & Investment Banking; OCBC; Societe Generale; Sustainable Fitch; LSEG; and Amundi.

About Hong Kong Green Finance Association

Founded in September 2018, Hong Kong Green Finance Association (HKGFA) provides a unique platform that supports the development of green finance and sustainable investments in Hong Kong and beyond. It aims to mobilise both public and private sector resources and talents in developing green finance policies, to promote green finance business and product innovation within financial institutions. HKGFA's main goal is to position Hong Kong as a leading international green tech and green finance hub by providing greater access and opportunities for Hong Kong's financial institutions and corporates to participate in green financing transactions locally, in Chinese Mainland, and in markets along the Belt & Road. This is in line with the global path to implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement.

Please visit https://www.hkgreenfinance.org/ for more information.