Singapore – The National University of Singapore (NUS) is establishing a new research institute that will develop deep research and capabilities in the area of green finance and sustainability with a focus on Asia. The new Sustainable and Green Finance Institute (SGFIN) will provide thought leadership and shape sustainability outcomes and policy making across the real economy and financial sectors.

SGFIN is supported by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and is expected to be fully operational before the end of 2021. It will be helmed by NUS Business School faculty members Professor Sumit Agarwal, who will be the Institute’s Managing Director, Associate Professor Johan Sulaeman as its Director and Associate Professor Zhang Weina as its Deputy Director.

SGFIN Managing Director Prof Sumit Agarwal, Low Tuck Kwong Distinguished Professor at the NUS Business School, said, “We are excited to kick start the Institute and look forward to providing thought leadership in Asia on the increasingly important issue of sustainable and green finance. The Institute will develop a robust set of policy recommendations for regulators that are grounded in rigorous research, build a sustainability and green scorecard for businesses in Asia that is transparent using modern statistical and advanced machine learning tools, and develop educational degree and non-degree programmes to help train the current and next generations of business executives and leaders.”

SGFIN plans to recruit more than a dozen research talents from across the region and around the world to embark on academic and applied research in providing relevant financial solutions and frameworks to address pressing climate and social challenges faced by the world and particularly the region.