Investors across the world are keeping their capital on the sidelines. In 2018, they have parked as much as $8000bn in negative-yielding bonds, opting for the safety of government bonds rather than the promise of strong financial returns in other markets.
This is bad news for emerging markets, who require up to $4000bn a year to meet their development needs. These countries have made tremendous progress over the decades in developing local capital markets that can mobilise domestic and foreign capital, but something is still missing: complete, accurate and reliable information on the environmental, social and governance practices (ESG) of local companies.
