Close Menu
Fund Focus News
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Trending
    • Top Hybrid Mutual Funds with Highest SIP Returns: Rs 20,000 monthly investment in No. 1 fund has grown to Rs 20.68 in just 5 years
    • NFO ongoing: Balancing growth and stability with Bajaj Finserv Equity Savings Fund
    • Clark posts over P1B in investments from Jan-July
    • You Can Now Use Your HSA/FSA Funds To Shop For Skincare At Dermstore
    • ETFs to Buy as Microsoft Nears $4T Mark Post Blowout Q4 Earnings
    • Get SIX bottles of wine for $100 off with free shipping: Savor every sip of the world’s best wines delivered right to your doorstep
    • The Sip Scene: Bare Roots’ Blue Hawaii
    • Ethereum ETFs, Treasury Companies Now Hold Over $32B In ETH: Here’s What’s Driving The Frenzy
    Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
    Fund Focus News
    • Home
    • Bonds
    • ETFs
    • Funds
    • Investments
    • Mutual Funds
    • Property Investments
    • SIP
    Fund Focus News
    Home»Investments»Why impact investing is not just ‘nice to have’ for HK, SG families | Alternatives
    Investments

    Why impact investing is not just ‘nice to have’ for HK, SG families | Alternatives

    July 14, 2024


    Family offices in Hong Kong and Singapore are investing to create a positive impact not just on the environment and society but also on their family businesses.

    The goal is often to provide environmentally friendly products for customers and ensure long-term self-sustainability, according to one family member as well as industry veterans.

    “Impact investing is one way for families to diversify portfolios and build in-house expertise on solutions that are relevant or adaptable to business operations,” said Katy Yung managing partner at Sustainable Finance Initiative (SFi), an impact- and sustainable investing-focused non-profit platform for smaller family offices.

    Katy Yung, SFi

    “I think this is part of the motivation for family offices to drive impact investing, particularly on the topic of decarbonisation, using investment capital to advance breakthrough innovation to get past proof-of-concept or proven solutions to scale,” she told AsianInvestor.

    IMPACT TO BOTTOM LINE

    Many families in the region made fortunes in traditional manufacturing, property, consumer, technology, and energy industries closely tied to global supply chains.

    As the pandemic disrupted these links and inflation soared in developed markets, Asian families proactively sought solutions to reduce costs and optimise operations, Yung noted.

    The need to step up sustainability efforts became apparent also when they faced new ESG-related regulatory standards for imported goods in Europe. Asia, too, is increasingly focused on Net Zero.

    “With the various touch points influencing business operations, families are realising the urgent need to find sustainable operational solutions. This is no longer a ‘nice to have,’ but it’s becoming a ‘must have’ as it has the potential to impact their bottom line,” said Yung, who is also a consultant to Hong Kong-based single family office RS Group, which focuses on responsible and impact investment across asset classes.

    GENERATIONAL SHIFT 

    On the other hand, she noted that as the second or third generation of 20th-century-founded family businesses gets more involved in investments, members often look beyond purely operation-driven impact investing.

    “The focus shifts away from just looking at cost reduction, risk mitigation, or being compliant to environmental and regulatory standards, but more towards a true desire to make a difference or make a change and ‘future-proofing’ the business through impact investing,” Yung said.

    Poman Lo,

    Regal Hotels Group

    “This generation of impact investors is educated in a way that they are more aware of all the planetary issues that we’re facing,” she added.

    Poman Lo, vice chairman and managing director at Hong Kong hotel group Regal Hotels, exemplifies this mindset. As a second-generation member of the family business, Lo is an active advocate for impact investing.

    In 2022, Lo founded AlphaTrio Capital, which focuses on impact investing through a sustainable technology fund. It concentrates on early-stage investments in property tech, sustainable living, agri-food tech, and clean tech – all closely related to the family’s businesses.

    “I’m genuinely interested in projects that do well by doing good. I am a keen believer in impact investing, I believe that it should become mainstream eventually, if we actually do want to save the planet,” Lo said during the HKVCA China Private Equity Summit in Hong Kong in late May.

    IMPACT ALIGNMENT

    One project Lo has been actively looking at is a water capture and treatment technology that was developed at Stanford University. The method aims to quickly disinfect water using solar power, reducing cost and energy use as compared to traditional methods.

    “That is a very sustainable source of water. And most importantly, we are able to actually put it to good use in our own hotel operations,” Lo said. She shared that the family’s hotels in Hong Kong consume over three million plastic bottles each year.

    ALSO READ: HK, SG family offices push for more impact investing in home markets

    “By installing this water filtration, we can first of all, save on plastic, cut down on emissions while also save on costs,” Lo said.

    She said the water tech startup is profitable, with an estimated return-on-investment period of under two years.

    “This is a very good example of investing in something that can drive return alongside impact,” she said.

    To date, AlphaTrio Capital’s internal rate of return was 22.3%, according to its website.

    Anthonia Hui,

    AlTi Tiedemann Global

    COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

    Lo’s plan for her family business coincides with the Hong Kong government’s single-use plastic ban on April 22 for hotels and restaurants, as the city begins to drive sustainable development for local businesses.

    Anthonia Hui, Head of Singapore at multifamily office AlTi Tiedemann Global, also highlighted multiple factors for families in the region to be interested and engaged in impact investing.

    ALSO READ: HK, SG family offices deepen impact investing strategies

    These include each family’s values, next-generation aspirations, regulatory requirements on business operations, and community or peer pressure.

    “Using technologies is one way to help improve sustainability,” Hui told AsianInvestor.

    “Pivoting their business model and working with the public sector and local communities are required [along] with a long-term, actionable strategy that requires ongoing review and adaptation to the evolving environments and technological advancement.”

    ¬ Haymarket Media Limited. All rights reserved.





    Source link

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Telegram Email

    Related Posts

    Clark posts over P1B in investments from Jan-July

    July 31, 2025

    Three Ways to Find Deals in Your Investments This Year

    July 31, 2025

    Filmmakers urge MUBI to sever ties with Sequoia over Israeli military tech investments linked to Gaza genocide

    July 31, 2025
    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    Top Posts

    Top Hybrid Mutual Funds with Highest SIP Returns: Rs 20,000 monthly investment in No. 1 fund has grown to Rs 20.68 in just 5 years

    July 31, 2025

    Qu’est-ce qu’un green bond ?

    December 7, 2017

    les cat’ bonds deviennent incontournables

    September 5, 2018

    ETF : définition et intérêt des trackers

    May 15, 2019
    Don't Miss
    Mutual Funds

    Top Hybrid Mutual Funds with Highest SIP Returns: Rs 20,000 monthly investment in No. 1 fund has grown to Rs 20.68 in just 5 years

    July 31, 2025

    Investors can put their money into the equity market using hybrid mutual funds, as these…

    NFO ongoing: Balancing growth and stability with Bajaj Finserv Equity Savings Fund

    July 31, 2025

    Clark posts over P1B in investments from Jan-July

    July 31, 2025

    You Can Now Use Your HSA/FSA Funds To Shop For Skincare At Dermstore

    July 31, 2025
    Stay In Touch
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Pinterest
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • Vimeo
    EDITOR'S PICK

    8 smallcap mutual funds multiplied SIP investments by over 2.25x in 5 years

    October 23, 2024

    Une star mondiale au PSG, c’est officiel !

    June 20, 2025

    Property investment helps Cambria deliver 41% surge in profits to £29.3m

    June 18, 2025
    Our Picks

    Top Hybrid Mutual Funds with Highest SIP Returns: Rs 20,000 monthly investment in No. 1 fund has grown to Rs 20.68 in just 5 years

    July 31, 2025

    NFO ongoing: Balancing growth and stability with Bajaj Finserv Equity Savings Fund

    July 31, 2025

    Clark posts over P1B in investments from Jan-July

    July 31, 2025
    Most Popular

    ₹10,000 monthly SIP in this debt mutual fund has grown to over ₹70 lakh in 23 years

    June 13, 2025

    ₹1 lakh investment in these 2 ELSS mutual funds at launch would have grown to over ₹5 lakh. Check details

    April 25, 2025

    ZIG, BUZZ, NANC, and KRUZ

    October 11, 2024
    © 2025 Fund Focus News
    • Get In Touch
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.