UNIDO ITPO Shanghai Supports 2025 Impact Investment International Forum Launch in Hong Kong

On January 7th, the 2025 International Forum for Impact Investing was held in Hong Kong, with the theme "Impact Investing - New Vision, New Fortune." The forum brought together over 300 elites and pioneers from the investment field, including representatives from international organizations, governments, enterprises, and academia. They jointly explored the new trends, opportunities, and challenges in impact investing. The aim was to build a diverse and open platform for global investors through the sharing of practical case studies and discussions on international cooperation frameworks, facilitating exchange and cooperation.

Xiaolei Zhao, Head of UNIDO ITPO Shanghai attended the conference as the co-organizer. Director-General Zhong Wu of the Finance Center for South-South Cooperation, Chairman Duoguang Bei of the China Academy of Finance Inclusive Hong Kong Foundation, Project Executive Massamba Thioye of the United Nations Climate Change Global Innovation Hub, and Director Jiali Lin, a member of the Board of Directors and Chairman of the Standing Committee on Economic and Financial Affairs of the World Union of Small and Medium Enterprises, representing the hosts, delivered speeches respectively. Chief Economist of the Finance Center for South-South Cooperation and former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China Laiwu Zhang, Vice-Chancellor of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Yike Guo, Deputy Director of the China Office of the World Food Programme Simon Clements, Executive Director of Financial Services Development Council Jinglin Ou , and Chief Executive Officer of the Global Steering Group for Impact Investment Elizabeth Boggs Davidsen, among other important guests from international organizations and the political, business, and academic communities, attended the event. Trust Fund Director Grace Xiaojun Wang of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation sent a video message of congratulations.

In recent years, there has been a lot of attention paid to companies going overseas and impact investing.With the theme of “Impact Investing: Enterprises Going Global and New Energy”, Ms. Zhao moderated the parallel session in the afternoon. Jie Zhang, Vice President and General Secretary, Energy Investment Professional Committee of the Investment Association of China; Qiying Zhang, President and Chief Technology Officer of MingYang Group; Yichai Xu, Chairman of Guangdong Bangyang International Holding Co., Ltd; An Wu, Senior Program Director, HKU Institute for China Business, Former Senior Executives of HP and IBM; Stephanie Choi, Sustainable and Impact Investing Strategist, UBS, and Xiaozhen Li, Sustainable Finance Lead, World Resources Institute China, as roundtable guests,  expressed their insights on “Zero Carbon China”, scenario shaping of new energy assets, integration of social responsibility into corporate strategic planning, boosting enterprises to go overseas by impact investing, balance between financial return and social impact, importance of just energy transformation and key role of financial mechanism. Through the discussion, the guests agreed that impact investment is a booster for enterprises to go global, explicit investment and invisible investment are equally important, upholding the bottom-line thinking of uncompromising and compromisable, setting up a successful model as soon as possible by reconstructing the new ecology of financial investment and the road of blended financing from the demand side, and creating new wealth with new sentiments.

Xiaolei Zhao introduced that the UNIDO, as a specialized agency of the United Nations, has taken three actions to promote impact investing: firstly, fostering innovation through the Global Cleantech Innovation Programme (GCIP) to support startups and SMEs in the field of cleantech; secondly, building bridges between investment and financing through the Private Finance Advisory Network (PFAN) to help clean energy projects raise funds; thirdly, providing market access platforms such as the Invest in ACP Platform to provide investors with comprehensive services to accurately screen projects and keep abreast of policy developments in target countries. Through this series of policy guidance, innovation cultivation, financing promotion and market development, UNIDO is systematically promoting global energy transformation.

Energy transition is a global systematic undertaking that requires coordinated efforts from governments, enterprises, investors, and other stakeholders. Shanghai ITPO will continue to serve as a bridge, working hand in hand with partners across sectors to facilitate the implementation of more innovative solutions through impact investment, jointly creating a path toward inclusive and sustainable development.