On September 5, HUA Jingdong, member of the ZIBS International Advisory Board (IAB), Vice-Chair of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), and former Vice President and Treasurer of the World Bank, was invited to participate in the ZIBS Global Leaders Series. He delivered a keynote speech titled "Capital Market and Sustainable Development Goals - From the Perspective of International Financial Institution." and engaged in an in-depth discussion with ZIBS faculty and students.
During the lecture, HUA Jingdong shared his rich experience at the World Bank and ISSB, elucidating how the World Bank has assisted developing countries in achieving their socio-economic development goals and the crucial role of capital markets in delivering this mission. He also highlighted the World Bank’s contributions of historic significance, including issuing the world’s first green bond in 2008 to provide funding support for projects on renewable energy, reforestation, and so on.
HUA Jingdong further introduced the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), whose mission is to establish a single global language of sustainability disclosure to sit alongside international accounting standards. This aims to enhance transparency in capital markets and strengthen accountability by providing investors with more consistent, comparable, verifiable, and comprehensive information to aid in decision-making. He noted that the publication of the first two global sustainability standards by ISSB in June has received broad international support. HUA Jingdong concluded, "the combination of the World Bank and ISSB (angles) tells us one thing: without a vibrant, liquid capital market and financial system, no country could achieve its full economic potential."
At last, HUA Jingdong encouraged students and professionals to actively consider how to use financial innovation to attract more funding and address SDG issues in developing countries, rather than just circulating in developed countries. He looks forward to seeing students make more contributions towards achieving this goal when they graduate from ZIBS.
In the welcome speech, Prof. BEN Shenglin, Dean of ZIBS, warmly welcomed Hua Jingdong’s presence at ZIBS. He emphasized ZIBS strong commitment to sustainable development, mentioning that in May 2023, in collaboration with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the CFA Institute, ZIBS systematically developed a Sustainable Finance Course, providing students with comprehensive knowledge in sustainable finance.
After the lecture, HUA Jingdong engaged in discussions and Q&A sessions with ZIBS faculty and students, exploring current hot topics in the field of sustainable finance based on his experiences. The event was hosted by iMF student Datsun de Silva.
As a member of the ZIBS International Advisory Board, HUA Jingdong held a meeting with ZIBS faculty prior to the lecture, delving into the latest developments and future strategic plans of ZIBS.
