Page 11 - AsiaElec Week 46

AsiaElec RENEWABLES AsiaElec

The insurer is working with its fund manager
partners to begin divesting from firms that pose Maria Nazarova-Doyle, head of Pension
the most severe investment risk due to the nature Investments at Scottish Widows, said: “As a large
of their businesses.. institutional investor, we have a vital role to play
Scottish Widows’ new exclusions policy tar- in shielding our customers from ESG invest-
gets companies which derive more than 10% of ment risks, as well as influencing positive change
their revenue from thermal coal and tar sands, through the investments we hold..
manufacturers of controversial weapons and “Our exclusions focus on companies we
violators of the UN Global Compact (UNGC) believe pose the most severe investment risk due
on human rights, labour, environment and cor- to the nature of their businesses, which can’t be
ruption – unless the size and type of investment addressed through engagement..
mean that the insurer can influence positive “The growth of these ‘at risk’ companies is
change in their business models.. likely to be severely limited by future regulations
As one of the biggest pension providers in the and the changing views of customers and inves-
UK, Scottish Widows’ new exclusions policy will tors, leading to significant falls in their share
benefit nearly 6mn UK savers.. prices..
These exclusions will be applied across the “We’ve worked hard to implement our exclu-
group’s life, pension and OEIC funds – including sions across our fund range without limiting this
its flagship workplace by default – and will apply initiative to our actively managed funds..
to index trackers as well as its own active funds.. “We’re excluding investments from the index
As part of the policy, the latest step in the trackers which underpin our flagship multi-asset
implementation of Scottish Widows’ Respon- funds too..
sible Investment and Stewardship Framework, “We recognise there’s more we can do as
Scottish Widows is working with its strategic a company and that this is just one step in the
investment partners to apply the exclusions to journey..
the external pooled funds they manage on behalf “However, this underlines our commitment
of a broad range of institutions in order to benefit of becoming a market leader in responsible
even more UK savers in the future.. investment and to make a real difference.”.™

NEWS IN BRIEF

WIND performance of fixed and floating structures, has announced that its Chairman and
in addition to competence related to seismic/ Founder, Jin Baofang, has been detained by
Norwegians and Japanese geohazard assessment for offshore wind farms Chinese authorities for as yet unspecified
outside of Japan.
charges.
sign offshore wind MoU NGI Managing Director of Perth office Noel on corruption charges, with the state under
KJC’s President Yoshiyuki Yagiura and the
Most such detentions in China are usually
Japan’s Kiso-Jiban Consultants (KJC) and the Boylan signed the agreement remotely due to no obligation to share details until it sees fit.
Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI) have the pandemic. The company website states that Mr Baofang
signed a Memorandum of Understanding KISO-JIBAN CONSULTANTS is also the Vice President of the China
(MoU) for offshore wind energy in Japan. Photovoltaic Industry Association and the
The two parties plan to jointly undertake director of PV Products Association Branch of
work related to geotechnical investigations, SOL AR the China Chamber of Commerce for Import
site characterization and foundation design, as and Export of Machinery and Electronic
well as collaborate on research activities in the JA Solar In Trouble, As Products.
field of offshore geohazard assessment. The move is bound to send shockwaves
KJC will contribute with the know-how of Founder Jin Baofang through the form and broader solar sector, as
site-specific conditions and practices related JA solar is a key player among China based
to offshore geophysical and geotechnical Detained By Chinese firms that have achieved success worldwide.
investigations in Japan, and subsequent At 21.2 billion yuan or 3.2 billion USD in
evaluations related to offshore wind farms. Authorities 2019, the firm also has 22,000 employees
NGI will provide knowledge related to worldwide. For now, the firm claims that it has
scoping and planning site investigations, JA Solar, the ‘wafer to module’ Chinese the structures and management in place to
design of foundations and anchors and manufacturer, with a strong global presence keep business as usual going.
experience related to the installation and and track record with over 50 GW of projects, The firm, that at the end of 2019, had

Week 46 18•November•2020 www. NEWSBASE .com P11