Asia’s rich are finally getting serious about channelling more of their massive wealth into impact investing — as long as they can find projects offering market rates of return in countries and industries close to their hearts.
Despite boasting more billionaires than any other region in the world and a raft of socio-economic and environmental challenges at home, Asia has remained a peripheral player in the impact investment world.
Just 13 per cent of the $114bn funding tracked by the Global Impact Investing Network in 2016 found its way to Asia, according to GIIN’s latest annual investor survey, which, although not exhaustive, offers the most comprehensive data available.