On September 12, 2018, the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), the Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) and the Bank of China (BOC) held the Signing Ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the "Green Bond Info Channel" among the SSE, the LuxSE and the BOC in the trading hall of the SSE. Among those attending the ceremony were Gramegna, Minister of the Luxembourg Ministry of Finance, Yu Bosheng, Luxembourg Ambassador to China, Wu Qing, Deputy Mayor of Shanghai and Chairman of the World Federation of Exchanges, Huang Hongyuan, Chairman of the SSE, Robert Scharfe, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the LuxSE, Sun Yu, Overseas Business Director of the Bank of China and other guests, as well as some domestic and overseas market institutions. SSE President Jiang Feng, Robert Scharfe and Sun Yu made a keynote speech, respectively.
The SSE and the LuxSE has carried out a series of cross-border cooperation based on green bond since 2016. It has successively realized the demonstration of the SSE green bond index on the SSE and the LuxSE and the launching of the Green Bond Info Channel, which have brought convenience for international investors to learn about the Chinese green bond market and facilitated the global trade financing. The signing of the MOU by three sides marks another landmark achievement in the development of green finance, and the joining of the BOC will greatly urge the cooperation between the two exchanges to transform from information flow to capital flow.
Jiang Feng said in his speech that "Both the SSE and the LuxSE are models advocating sustainable development in the industry and the BOC has made remarkable achievements in green finance. Previously, the SSE and the LuxSE, as the bridge tower on the two ends of the "Green Belt and Road", were far away from each other across mountains and seas; from now on, we will set up a brand new 'Eurasia Land Bridge' that serves the green finance by making use of the BOC that is matchless in international business to serve the Green Bond Info Channel. The sincere cooperation among the three sides will bring more financial institutions to support the development of green finance."
Robert Scharfe said, "The European Union and the Luxembourg Government have been active in promoting sustainable development and green finance. The SSE and the LuxSE have included the construction of a sustainable financial market in the agenda. They jointly launched the Green Bond Channel this June, which has made preliminary achievement; the join-in of the BOC will fuel the rapid development of Green Bond Info Channel. In face of the difficulties and challenges in the future, the three sides will work together to achieve win-win cooperation."
Sun Yu first expressed his gratefulness to the SSE and the LuxSE in his speech and also thanked the Luxembourg Ministry of Finance and Shanghai Municipal Government for their support. He stressed, "'Green' and 'Connection' are the theme of the day. The BOC has actively practiced the idea of sustainable finance in the world. It's a great honor to take part in the 'Green Bond Info Channel' construction of the two exchanges to make this significant mechanism into reality. In the future, the three parities will join hands to create a bright future for green finance."
General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed the importance of green development again at the National Conference on Ecological Environment Protection in May 2018, advocating for seeking global ecological civilization construction, deeply taking part in global environment management, forming solutions to world environmental protection and sustainable development and guiding international cooperation against climate change. The signing of this MOU has not only demonstrated the earnest efforts of the Chinese capital market in facilitating ecological civilization construction but also represented the new wave of the global capital market in the cooperation and innovation in green finance. It aims to guide the global ecological civilization construction and offer continuous momentum for creating a green home.