Samsung Securities-MSCI, MOU... Providing ESG Research Services

From the left, Jang Seok-hoon, President of Samsung Securities, and Kim Tae-hee, Korea Representative of MSCI. Photo by Samsung Securities

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji-hwan Park] On the 17th, Samsung Securities announced that it signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for a strategic partnership with the global ESG rating agency MSCI at Samsung Securities headquarters in Seocho-gu, Seoul. The event was attended by Samsung Securities CEO Seok-hoon Jang and MSCI Korea Representative Tae-hee Kim.

MSCI is well known for operating various benchmark indices used to evaluate the performance of global funds. In the ESG field, it has continuously developed evaluation methodologies for over 40 years. MSCI’s evaluations are divided into △Environmental sector with 4 themes and 13 items including carbon emissions and power waste △Social sector with 4 themes and 16 items including labor management and product safety △Governance sector with 2 themes and 6 items including board of directors and ownership. Ratings are assigned on a 7-level scale from AAA (excellent) to CCC (poor). Based on these ratings, MSCI calculates global ESG-related indices including the ‘MSCI ESG Leaders’ index. It is known to have a powerful influence in the investment industry, with global assets under management tracking these indices exceeding $350 billion.

Through this partnership with MSCI, Samsung Securities plans to dramatically enhance its ESG research capabilities by utilizing MSCI’s vast data and research know-how, while providing various ESG services to corporate and institutional clients.

Since February this year, Samsung Securities has provided ESG advisory services to more than 100 companies and institutional investors, and it expects the satisfaction of these services to improve significantly through this strategic partnership.

Yoon Seok-mo, head of Samsung Securities ESG Research Institute, said, "Through this partnership, we will be able to provide insights aligned with global standards in the ESG field, which has become the ‘new normal’ in corporate management." He added, "By leveraging MSCI’s network to obtain the latest global ESG information and acquiring advanced evaluation know-how accumulated over 40 years, we will be able to offer various investment-related ideas."