NH Investment & Securities Selected as Asia's First UN Climate Fund Asset Manager

NH Investment & Securities announced on the 18th that it has been selected as the first Asian securities firm to operate the Climate Tech Fund under the United Nations (UN) Green Climate Fund (GCF).

NH Investment & Securities' Carbon Finance Department is responsible for discovering companies to invest in and managing the R&BD (Research & Business Development) collaboration program, while its Singapore subsidiary NH Absolute Return Partners (NH ARP) is in charge of establishing and managing the fund.

Since the appointment of President Yoon Byung-woon, NH Investment & Securities has been actively promoting government-supported greenhouse gas reduction projects, including expanding the carbon emissions trading market business, expanding carbon reduction projects, and developing a carbon emissions trading brokerage system. Based on these efforts, the company has achieved the milestone of becoming the first Asian securities firm to become a GCF operator, enabling private companies to enter the global climate finance market.

At the 39th GCF Board meeting recently held in Songdo, Incheon, the GCF officially approved funding for the "Climate Tech Companies Overseas Expansion Support Program." The GCF is an international organization under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) established to provide financial support for greenhouse gas reduction and climate change adaptation in developing countries. Through this program, it supports the entry of global climate technology markets and the expansion of climate projects participation in five Southeast Asian countries (Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Laos). The Climate Technopreneurship Fund (CTF) aims to raise approximately KRW 280 billion (USD 200 million). This program is a collaborative initiative supervised by KDB Industrial Bank, a GCF accredited entity, jointly involving NH Investment & Securities, its Singapore subsidiary, and the international organization Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI). Along with the approval of this project, the GCF plans to invest and donate about KRW 140 billion (USD 100 million) to the fund. NH Investment & Securities plans to discover global climate technology companies in green sectors such as ▲renewable energy ▲low-carbon transportation ▲sustainable agriculture ▲water treatment ▲waste management and support their expansion into the five Southeast Asian countries. The CTF fund is an impact fund designed to achieve the GCF’s project goals, with a fund structure favorable for attracting private investors, aiming for its first closing by the end of 2025.

Park Geon-hoo, Head of Client Solutions Division at NH Investment & Securities, said, "We are the first domestic securities firm and the only one in Asia to have our GCF climate technology transfer project approved. As the government recently pledged USD 300 million to the GCF and is increasing its influence on the international climate stage, we will strive to play a leading role in the global carbon finance market through our participation in the world’s largest climate network."

Since 2023, NH Investment & Securities has organized the Carbon Finance Department under its Asset Management Division, promoting the establishment of the on-exchange carbon emissions trading market and pilot projects for sole entrusted trading. The company is playing a leading role in the carbon finance market, including greenhouse gas reduction projects and investments in climate tech companies. Additionally, the Global Business Division oversees not only NH ARP in Singapore, which manages the CTF fund, but also local subsidiaries in London, New York, Vietnam, and Indonesia, maintaining organic cooperation with this program.