UOB halted lending to new oil and gas projects

On October 31, Singapore's financial giant UOB said it would draw up a roadmap for each of the six high-emitting sectors to stop lending for new oil and gas development projects to improve their feasibility
of achieving net-zero emissions to achieve their net-zero targets in order to achieve their 2050 net-zero greenhouse gas targets.

UOB said it had achieved net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from its banking operations by 2021
.
At present, the bank has developed decarbonization plans
for six major industries: oil and gas, electricity, automobiles, real estate, construction and steel.
For oil and gas customers, UOB has decided not to lend
to new developments approved after 2022.
UOB said it would be the first Asian bank
to announce a halt to financing new oil and gas projects.
Previously, UOB has stopped lending for new coal-fired power generation and mine development projects, and will completely exit loans related to existing coal projects by 2039
.
UOB CEO Huang Yizong previously said that Southeast Asian countries have different economic development conditions and different social problems
.
As a financial institution, the bank will consider securing growth opportunities while taking into account social responsibility
.
In addition, UOB plans to expand the number of
sectors with detailed emission reduction targets in the future.

In September, DBS Holdings, Singapore's largest bank, announced a decarbonisation plan
for nine major lending sectors, including oil and gas.
OCBC Bank in Singapore is also accelerating its efforts to combat climate change, with plans to develop decarbonisation plans
for each sector in the first half of 2023.