Singapore’s central bank has introduced new ESG metrics and measures that are aligned with the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD).

In its annual sustainability report issued at the end of July, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said the measures will apply to listed companies, major financial institutions, and retail ESG funds.

From January retail ESG funds will have to provide details on their investment strategy, the criteria and metrics used to select investment, and limitations and risks associated with the fund’s strategy.

Listed companies will be required to disclose their climate-related risks, based on TCFD recommendations, from 2023 onwards, followed by financial institutions “as soon as the ISSB standard is finalised”.

Later this year, MAS and SGX will launch an ESG disclosure platform under Project Greenprint. This aims to allow listed companies in Singapore to upload corporate sustainability data in a structured and efficient manner, accessible by external stakeholders upon consent.

“It will help streamline and reduce corporates’ ESG reporting burden, and ensure comparability for users of these data sets such as financial institutions and service providers,” Ravi Menon, Managing Director at MAS said in a speech launching the report.

“These steps will be important in preparing issuers for eventually reporting against the ISSB standard, which is expected to be finalised by the end of this year,” he added.

MAS is also planning to engage financial institutions on their transition plans towards net-zero or other relevant emissions targets, and is looking to improve access to ESG data available to firms and standardise the taxonomy for transition activities.