Starting next January 1, all savings for the retirement of Mexican workers will be invested with a greater focus on projects that have a positive impact on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG).
The Retirement Fund Administrators (Afores) will be the first institutional investors in Mexico that as of 2022 will be regulated or in some way obliged to invest in companies and projects that comply with the ESG certification.
These administrators are the main institutional investors in Mexico, since they manage 5.1 trillion pesos of workers’ savings, equivalent to 22% of the national Gross Domestic Product.
While the financing in the labeled bond market will close with a historical mark since 2016, registering a total of 38 placements for a total amount of 87,000 million pesos, according to information from the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV).
The president of the Mexican Association of Retirement Fund Administrators (Amafore), Bernardo González Rosas, highlighted that each of the Afores has a strong commitment to society and to the future of investments in general, which increasingly demand criteria from ASG, beyond the objective of complying with an international trend.
“If the financial sector does not lead this transformation and this commitment to sustainable investments, it will be difficult for the world to move at the speed we would like to take care of the environment, incorporate excluded groups in important decisions, both companies and governments, as well as the adoption of good corporate governance principles ”, said Bernardo González.
Institutional investors globally consider climate change and ESG investments in general as a priority, but most face challenges in integrating climate risks into their investment portfolios, a recent survey by Macquarie Asset Management, a manager, concluded. of global assets in infrastructure, renewable energy, real estate, among other sectors.
This survey included 180 global institutional asset investors, such as asset managers, banks, investment advisers and consultants, pension funds, which together represent more than $ 21 trillion in assets under management.
Another conclusion was that only 35% of investors responded that they have committed to aligning their portfolios to reach net zero emissions by 2050. Meanwhile, 89% expect to increase their focus on ESG over the next two years, although a large majority share the view that a positive sustainability strategy can improve financial returns.
On the other hand, companies in Mexico have begun to present or include in their financial reports a section about their actions on sustainability. Among them are large corporations such as Walmart de México y Centroamérica, Cementos Mexicanos (Cemex), Grupo Alfa, Coca-Cola Femsa, Mexican economic development (Femsa) among others.
While 15 of the 16 real estate investment trusts (fibers) listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange already report their actions in ESG matters or have included a section under this chapter on their website.
Even this year, other union companies joined the commitment to improve their practices in environmental, social, and better corporate governance matters, by issuing bonds linked to sustainability, the purpose of which is to obtain financing to meet internal goals on these issues. , in case of not complying with what has been stated, then the interest rate that they will pay for these bonds increases with respect to what was initially agreed between the investors.
Some of the linked bond issuers were Coca-Cola Femsa, Volaris, the low-cost carrier. While other companies such as Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte (OMA) and Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacífico (GAP) made their inaugural issuance in the green bond market, Arca Continental, Fibra Prologis and Fibra Storage also paraded in this market.
Betterware debuted with its sustainable bonds and Consorcio ARA. He highlighted the issuance of the first social bond linked to Covid-19, by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), as well as Banco Compartamos, FIRA, IDB Invest and Fonacot for issuing gender social bonds, for projects aimed at productive projects, headed by women.
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx