Episode 4: Catalysing Asia's low carbon shift with transition finance and partnerships

00:41 |

DBS emphasises that transition finance should address environmental, social, and governance goals. This ensures investments not only fund green projects but also promote responsible procurement, renewable energy use, and community development.

02:52 |

Transition finance plays a critical role in helping Asian businesses move towards greener investments, balancing environmental goals with broader sustainable development. It also emphasises creating enabling environments to phase out high-emissions industries while promoting renewables growth.

06:30 |

In sectors such as coal and mining, advisory services are crucial for identifying pathways to decarbonisation. DBS provides advisory support to help these industries pivot to renewables and low carbon technologies, making their transition both feasible and bankable.

08:10 |

Asia's outdated grid presents challenges for integrating renewables. Significant investments and regulatory alignment are crucial to modernise the grid. Learning from markets like Australia, which uses battery storage solutions to stabilise intermittency, can help other countries avoid common pitfalls and enhance grid stability. Modernised infrastructure will be key to supporting technologies like hydrogen and enabling a low carbon future.

15:27 |

Beyond power emissions, sectors like steel, cement, and transportation pose unique challenges. The future of these industries will rely on transition finance to enable innovations such as sustainable aviation fuels and green maritime fuels. The focus is expanding from green electricity to include green fuels, or "green molecules", which are essential for large-scale emissions reduction.

16:47 |

Asia Pacific leads in renewables. However, growth is largely driven by China, leaving Southeast Asia and South Asia with significant catching up to do. With advancing technology and regulatory support, the region has the potential to see rapid, scaled growth. This will be catalysed by energy exports to markets like Singapore.

18:33 |

Singapore's renewables imports highlight the need for an ASEAN Power Grid to facilitate cross-border energy flows. This interconnected approach allows countries to leverage regional strengths, shifting from isolated power systems to a collaborative and resilient energy future in Southeast Asia.

About our guest

Mr Lim Wee Seng is the Group Head for Sustainability and Energy at DBS Bank. He also serves as a Director on the board of DBS China Ltd and previously held the position of Country Head of DBS Vietnam from 2016 to 2021.

In 2010, Mr Lim played an integral role in the establishment of DBS's project finance business, leading the team to become one of Asia's most prominent project finance institutions. Under his guidance, DBS earned the title of Project Finance Advisory House of the Year in Asia Pacific in 2022, 2021, and 2019. The bank also won Project Finance House of the Year in Singapore for six consecutive years, from 2017 to 2022, as recognised by The Asset Triple A Sustainable Infrastructure Awards.

DBS also received accolades as the Asia-Pacific Financial Adviser of the Year in 2020 and Mandated Lead Arranger of the Year, Asia-Pacific, in 2019; both at the IJGlobal Awards. The team was further honoured as the Best Project Finance House of the Year in Asia for the third time at the FinanceAsia Achievement Awards in 2022. Additionally, DBS Bank is consistently ranked as one of the Top 10 Project Finance Advisors in the Asia-Pacific region by Project Finance International.

Mr Lim is also a founding member of Clifford Capital, a specialist finance company focused on bridging gaps in the project and structured asset-backed finance markets. His extensive experience in project financing spans across Asia, covering projects in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Australia, Singapore, India, China and South Korea. His sector experience includes power (both merchant and Independent Power Producer (IPP)/Captive models), renewables, public-private partnerships and oil and gas (including liquefied natural gas).