Hang Seng Index Company releases the 2024 Sustainability Rating of Listed Companies.

On August 26, Hang Seng Index Company published the sustainable development ratings of Hong Kong and Mainland listed companies for 2024 on its "ESG Services" webpage. The sustainable development assessment covered 550 Hong Kong listed companies and over 1300 eligible A-share companies in the Hang Seng A-share Index that can be traded through Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect. The overall distribution of ratings was similar to last year, with the top-rated companies showing continued improvement in their ESG performance. The sustainable development assessment criteria are reviewed annually in line with evolving ESG trends, referencing international and local guidelines. Additionally, the assessment framework covers three core themes of environment, social, and governance, with equal weighting given to each, and industry-specific relevance factors are also considered. Since 2014, Hang Seng Index Company has commissioned the independent professional rating agency, Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency, to conduct an annual assessment of listed companies' sustainable development performance. This sustainable development rating serves as an effective indicator for measuring companies' ESG performance and is also a key criteria used in the selection of constituent stocks for ESG indices compiled by Hang Seng Index Company, such as the Hang Seng Sustainable Development Enterprise Index series and the Hang Seng ESG 50 Index, which provide benchmarks for sustainable investing.