© Geoff Greenwood
The Bank of Thailand (BoT) has announced a joint initiative with eight Thai banks to encourage the creation of financial products that help smaller companies become more sustainable.
The project will see Bangkok Bank, Krungthai Bank, Bank of Ayudhya, Kasikornbank, Kiatnakin Phatra Bank, Thanachart Bank, Siam Commercial Bank and the United Overseas Bank collaborate with the central bank along with government agencies and other partners, according to a statement on the BoT website.
While major Thai companies are starting to adapt well to more sustainable practices, “small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are still much less aware than large businesses of the need to adapt to the green economy,” BoT governor Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput told the Financing the Transition event hosted by the central bank on 7 August.
Thai industry overall “is still reliant on high proportions of fossil energy and uses old technologies that are not as environmentally friendly as they should be”, Sethaput said, not least given the country’s target of reaching net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2065.
The lack of tools to help SMEs adapt in particular “may affect their competitiveness in both the short and long-term”, he added.
The event was attended by more than 600 representatives from the private sector, financial institutions, government agencies, regulators and international organisations.
The initiative is the latest in a series launched by the BoT with the aim of supporting Thailand’s green transition. The BoT published the first version of its Thailand Taxonomy in June 2023 in a bid to help investors determine the environmental impact of potential investments.
Thailand’s taxonomy is one of a growing number being created around south-east Asia, a region that has become a growing contributor to global emissions due to its rapid industrialisation, making efforts to encourage sustainable growth particularly crucial.
This page was last updated January 6, 2025
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Katy Lee has been a writer for Green Central Banking since early 2024, focused on our Asia coverage. A Paris-based journalist who has written for major international titles for more than a decade, she is the co-host of The Europeans, an award-winning podcast about Europe which often covers environmental issues.
