ESG

Singapore has announced that it is lifting a 2019 moratorium on the construction of new data centres, however government concerns about energy efficiency and consumption mean new facilities will need to meet rigorous standards.

In the short term, the number of new data centres will be very limited, with a maximum of three approvals in a new post-mortarium pilot phase, which begins in the second quarter of this year and which will last 12-18 months. The new data centres will also have a cap on their power use: all must be between 10MW and 30MW.

Jack Harkness, director, industrial & logistics, Asia at Savills, says: “The end of the moratorium and permission for new data centres is good news, as is the focus on sustainability, however with only three approvals in this pilot phase, competition will be fierce.”

The Singapore government imposed a moratorium on construction of new data centres in 2019, due to concerns about the amount of electricity they use. At present, the city-state has 70 data centres with aggregate capacity of 1000MW; the sector uses around 7% of Singapore’s electricity.

The enhanced principles were based on feedback from industry participants and stressed the importance of stewardship outcomes.

31 March 2022, Singapore – Stewardship Asia Centre (SAC) today released the second edition of the Singapore Stewardship Principles (SSP) for Responsible Investors, updating practices to enhance Singapore's investment environment. The revisions were driven by a 10-member steering committee, supported by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Exchange (SGX).

Singapore first introduced the principles in 2016, outlining practices related to the core behaviour and actions associated with stewardship to promote active and responsible investment.  Since then, capital markets have undergone profound developments as global concerns intensified over the impact of financial investments on the economy, society and the environment. Stakeholders emphasised that investors should become better stewards by demonstrating a genuine intent to deliver sustainable performance and long-term value to clients and beneficiaries, as well as to factor in environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations. The steering committee took into account the global market developments in shaping the principles. An industry survey was conducted in March 2021 to garner feedback from the asset management industry on their perspective of investment stewardship. This was followed by an open consultation to obtain stakeholders’ feedback on the draft of the updated SSP in November 2021.

“We received feedback from more than 20 stakeholders. These recommendations were taken into consideration to enhance the principles in the areas of internal structures and governance, stewardship beyond listed companies, and ESG considerations. We urge the financial services and investment industry to adopt the updated SSP and make a greater commitment towards responsible investment,” said Rajeev Peshawaria, CEO of SAC.

SS&C Intralinks' new report, Gender Diversity and Dealmaking 2022, draws on data from more than 11,000 M&A deals announced between 2010 and 2021 and features commentary from senior dealmakers to understand this trend.

Download the new report to understand:

• Why women CEOs outperformed men during the pandemic on post-deal share price, ROE, EBIT/sales and EBITDA/sales
• How short-term investor reaction to deals announced by female leaders has slightly improved since our first report
• Innovative female CEO M&A strategies and decision-making, such as managing risk by leveraging more advisors and structuring cash-only or all-stock deals
• Significant gender-based differences in acquisition target types and deal processes
• Why the pandemic has improved perceptions of female CEOs and diversity

This report was originally published in https://www3.intralinks.com/gender-diversity-and-dealmaking-2022

To address climate change, leading real estate funds and companies around the world are setting decarbonization and net-zero targets. These targets can differ widely and consist of many elements, and some may be more credible than others. In this report — which builds on our net-zero report for companies, “Breaking Down Corporate Net-Zero Climate Targets” — we outline an approach for evaluating real estate funds’ and companies’ decarbonization and net-zero targets. It aims to help the industry set net-zero commitments, as well as support asset owners in evaluating decarbonization targets of companies and funds they invest in. It argues that best practices for decarbonization and achieving net-zero are:

• Comprehensive: Include all significant sources of emissions, even those that may be hard to quantify, including Scope 3 emissions from tenant-controlled energy use and development activities.

• Ambitious: Pursue absolute reductions in the short and long term, in line with accepted, science-based pathways.

• Feasible: Demonstrate progress toward goals, supported by a robust business strategy

This report was originally published in https://www.msci.com/www/research-paper/breaking-down-real-estate-net/03021835623