HONG KONG, Nov. 20, 2023 – On the evening of 10 November 2023, The Asset, a renowned Asian financial magazine, held “The Asset ESG Corporate Awards 2023” awards ceremony at the Four Seasons Hotel Singapore. Fosun International Limited (“Fosun International” or the “Company”) (HKEX stock code: 00656) was awarded “The Asset ESG Corporate Awards 2023 – Platinum Award”, “Best Sustainability Team” and “Best Investor Relations Team” by the magazine. In addition, Hainan Mining, a subsidiary of Fosun, won the “Best Initiative in Environmental Responsibility” for its outstanding initiative in environmental protection.
Organized by The Asset, “The Asset ESG Corporate Awards” has been running for many years and is one of the leading environmental, social and governance (ESG) awards in the Asia-Pacific region. This year, Fosun International was accredited with the Platinum Award at “The Asset ESG Corporate Awards 2023”, reflecting the magazine’s recognition of Fosun’s outstanding performance in various fields including financial performance, corporate governance, social responsibility, environmental protection, investor relations, information disclosure and corporate communication. Other recipients of the Platinum Award include Bank of China (Hong Kong), China Overseas Land and Investment, China Unicom, Kerry Properties, Shui On Land, Sino Land, etc.
Fosun’s remarkable ESG performance has been widely recognized by the international market
Looking back on the past, Fosun has always paid attention to the reform and development of the global policies in the field of sustainable development. It has established a comprehensive ESG management system, integrated ESG management requirements into business management over the years, actively responded to national and global strategies in relation to sustainable development, ensured information security, promoted technology innovation, implemented “dual carbon” goals, protected the rights and interests of employees to promote sustainable management and value creation. In order to further fulfil its corporate social responsibility, Fosun established Fosun Foundation in 2012 and continues to advance in the fields of global emergency relief, rural revitalization, health promotion, community co-construction, caring for children and adolescents, education, culture and art, demonstrating its commitment to public welfare.
Fosun International is committed to promoting ESG work and has achieved impressive results. Fosun International received an AA MSCI ESG rating and was the only conglomerate in Greater China with such rating. It was selected as a constituent of the MSCI CHINA ESG LEADERS 10-40 Index again. Its S&P CSA ESG score outperformed 91% of its global peers. Fosun International was included in S&P Global’s Sustainability Yearbook 2023 (China Edition) and recognized as an “Industry Mover” by S&P Global. Fosun International’s HSI ESG rating was upgraded to AA- and was selected as a constituent stock of the Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability Index for the first time. Fosun International’s FTSE Russell ESG score was upgraded from 3.0 to 3.8, consistently higher than the global industry average , and it has been continuously selected as a constituent of the FTSE4Good Index Series.
Built a comprehensive mechanism for ESG management to effectively implement ESG strategies and actions
Fosun has been actively focusing on how to undertake more social responsibility. It is also committed to further optimizing corporate governance, focusing on the healthy development of sustainable businesses, extending from the Board of Directors (the “Board”) to daily operations. Fosun has set up an ESG Board Committee under the Board to assist the Board in guiding and overseeing the Group’s ESG development and implementation. At the management and decision-making level, Fosun has established an ESG Executive Committee to provide decision support for the implementation of ESG strategies. At the implementation level, the Group has also set up an ESG Management Committee and an ESG Working Group to implement ESG strategies and related actions and ensure the establishment of appropriate and effective ESG risk management and internal control system.
Fosun prioritizes sustainability and fosters an ESG culture from the top down. Fosun’s ESG Management Committee and ESG Working Group regularly hold meetings and workshops including ESG global networking workshop, ESG culture week, ESG digital platform, encourage knowledge and experience sharing related to ESG among employees and subsidiaries, to help establish open communication channels within the Group and assist in promoting ESG development in subsidiaries. The Asset awarded Fosun International “Best Sustainability Team”, which reflects the market’s recognition of the company’s ESG management and the company’s active promotion of environmental protection, social responsibility, and corporate governance.
Improving communication in the global capital market, Fosun’s long-term strategy has been recognized by investors
In the first half of 2023, the global politics and economy remained complex, while China’s economy has recovered modestly. In the face of the complex macro environment, Fosun has stepped up its efforts to focus on household consumption as the top-priority sector, concentrating on the development of core businesses where it boasts clear competitive advantages, the overall business of the Group maintained steady growth. Though complexity in global politics and economy has escalated, Fosun has been actively communicating with global investors and completed over 220 domestic and overseas investor roadshows in 8 countries and regions around the world. Fosun has received high recognition and support from investors for its long-term strategy and corporate value. The Asset awarded Fosun International “Best Investor Relations Team”, which demonstrates the market’s recognition of Fosun International’s corporate management and operations, information disclosure, transparency, and communication with stakeholders, and affirms Fosun’s long-term investment value.
In the face of the constant changes in the macro environment, Fosun has further revealed the future development direction: Fosun will reinforce its positioning as “a global innovation-driven consumer group”, focus on its core businesses strategically around the consumption needs of global families, and strengthen the two core growth engines of globalization and innovation. The market is optimistic about Fosun’s strategy of focusing on household consumption sectors. A number of international investment banks and domestic securities firms, including Citi, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Daiwa Capital, Nomura Orient, Industrial Securities, Huaxi Securities, and Kaiyuan Securities are bullish on Fosun International’s strategy of focusing on core businesses and have published reports after its 2023 interim results and assigned Fosun International a “Buy” or an “Overweight” rating.
Meanwhile, international investment banks and domestic securities firms pointed out that Fosun continued to optimize its capital and asset structure, put greater efforts in the disposal of non-strategy and non-core assets, and actively explored financing channels, thereby maintaining ample liquidity. In the first half of 2023, cash inflow from divestment amounted to more than RMB20.0 billion at the consolidated level. In January 2023, Fosun High Technology successfully entered into a syndicated loan agreement for an amount of RMB12 billion with eight domestic banks, attesting to the domestic banking institutions’ firm support for the development of private enterprises. As for public-market financing channels, Fosun High Technology issued two super short-term commercial papers of RMB1 billion each in January and July 2023. In the first half of 2023, the Group has navigated through the maturity wall, and redeemed onshore bonds of RMB6.73 billion as well as offshore debt of over USD2.7 billion. As of 30 June 2023, the Group had no material offshore bonds due in one year. The improved credit profile has also been affirmed by the international market. On 30 May 2023, international rating agency S&P Global Ratings issued a report, lifting the Group’s rating outlook to “stable”.
Actively advance Fosun’s carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets, call on all sectors to promote carbon neutrality
Facing the increasingly severe challenges of global climate change, Fosun issued the ESG Report not only in accordance with the Environmental, Social and Governance Reporting Guide in Appendix 27 to the Listing Rules of Hong Kong Stock Exchange, but also prepared the ESG Report with reference to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Sustainability Reporting Standards (GRI Standards). Fosun also based on the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”) recommendations, disclosed its climate-related financial risks voluntarily and issued its first Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures report (the “TCFD Report”), with a view to striving to build a long-term climate adaptive capacity and drive the transformation towards a low-carbon economy through supporting and implementing the TCFD recommendations.
In addition, Fosun has established a Carbon Neutrality Committee and a Carbon Neutrality Working Group, with carbon neutrality led and progressed by the Environment, Health, Safety & Quality (EHSQ) Department. The Carbon Neutrality Committee, composed of directors of Fosun International and directors of member companies, is responsible for supervising and promoting the overall carbon neutrality strategy, and regulating and monitoring climate-related risks and opportunities. Fosun has also added the indicator of “carbon neutrality management” to the ESG management performance appraisal mechanism of responsible persons of each business segment of the Group, with the aim of promoting further implementation and enforcement of carbon-neutral management across the Group.
The Group and its member companies actively promote energy conservation and carbon reduction and are determined to become carbon reduction pioneers in industries. This year, The Asset commended Hainan Mining, a subsidiary of Fosun, for its emphasis on environmental protection and awarded it “Best Initiative in Environmental Responsibility” for its outstanding “Mine Reforestation and Water Resource Protection” initiative.
Looking ahead, as a global enterprise rooted in China, Fosun will continue to uphold its original aspiration of “Contribution to Society” and actively promote the Group and its subsidiaries to forge ahead the sustainable development of ESG globally, with a view to fulfilling Fosun’s mission of “Creating Happier Lives for Families Worldwide”.
Hainan Mining: Mine Reforestation and Water Resource Protection
Hainan Mining attaches great importance to the geological environment protection and ecological management of mining areas, and continuously increases the vegetation coverage rate of mines. From its establishment in 2007 to the end of 2022, Hainan Mining had voluntarily planted 3.3225 million trees, restored ecological areas covering 3.4619 million square meters, and invested a total of RMB157.6531 million in remediation funds.
To protect water resources and enhance the utilization of mine water resources, Hainan Mining has vigorously researched and developed water recycling projects for the beneficiation and mining processes, and established an effective water recycling management mechanism, yielding excellent water-saving benefits. The beneficiation wastewater is comprehensively reused through in-plant disposal and overflow reuse from the tailings dam, achieving a “dual-cycle” overflow water from the beneficiation wastewater completely reuse. All the mine pit water generated during mining is fully utilized. In the past three years, although the total water consumption by Hainan Mining has increased, the annual consumption of new water has decreased year by year.
