CHALLENGING macroeconomic conditions dragged environmental, social and governance (ESG) bond issuance in South-east Asia to a 64.5 per cent year-on-year fall in the third quarter of 2023.

The US$2.3 billion of proceeds raised in the three months to Sep 30, 2023 was less than half the US$6.5 billion raises in the year-ago period, and marked the third straight quarter of year-on-year declines, based on data from Refinitiv.

ESG loans experienced a similar downtrend, with total loan amounts decreasing 46.2 per cent to US$6.5 billion in Q3 2023 compared to US$12.2 billion a year ago.