jacqueline loh : keeping green and impact in focus keynote speech by ms jacqueline loh, deputy managing director of the monetary authority of singapore, at asian venture philanthropy network ( avpn ) virtual conference 2020, 8 june 2020. * * * ms naina batra, chairperson and ceo, avpn distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen 1. good morning. thank you for inviting me to the eighth avpn conference. i am very glad that avpn has pressed on with this flagship event virtually in these unprecedented times. the covid - 19 pandemic has resulted in significant health, economic and social challenges globally. the imf has projected that global gdp will contract by 3 % this year1, 2. marking a significantly deeper downturn than the 0. 1 % contraction in 2009 during the global financial crisis. “ the power of networks ”, which is the theme of this year ’ s avpn conference, is highly apt as we strive towards the united nations sustainable development goals ( un sdgs ). addressing complex and multi - dimensional challenges like climate action, inequality, and 3. quality healthcare and education requires policymakers, financial institutions, corporates, nongovernmental organisations, and multilateral development banks ( mdbs ), to come together on a common global challenge. the financial sector and mdbs have stepped up and shored capital towards building capacity in healthcare and pharmaceuticals, while supporting the recovery. 4. social and sustainability bond issuances totalled us $ 24 billion in the first quarter of this year2, nearly double that of the same period last year. the bond proceeds are channelled to support healthcare and pharmaceutical development, for the benefit of lower income households and small businesses. the world bank ’ s pandemic bond facility has been triggered, and will provide us $ 195 million in emergency financing to 64 of the world ’ s poorest countries to support their recovery. 3 5. today, i will focus on opportunities in green and sustainable finance, and impact investing. pushing forward with green finance for a sustainable world 6. the pandemic provides a prime opportunity for countries to “ build back better ”. it is important now, more than ever, that countries not only rebuild their economies and preserve jobs, but also in the process, intentionally build a more sustainable new economy. there have been growing calls for governments to prioritise or accelerate green infrastructure development as part of recovery plans. infrastructure development is critical to driving economic growth and improving social

the way we seek to rationalise and solve problems ; and predictive models, the way we infer cause and effect. iv see e. g. riordan c m ( 2015 ), “ diversity is useless without inclusivity ”, harvard business review, august. v deloitte vi farmer, h, mckay, r, tsakiris, m, trust in me ( 2013 ) : “ trust in me : trustworthy others are seen as more physically similar to the self ”, psychological science vii see oecd viii oecd ix kahneman, d ( 2012 ) “ thinking fast and slow ”, london. see also sunstein, c. r, hastie, r ( 2014 ), “ making dumb groups smarter ”, harvard business review, december. x see e. g. page, s ( 2007 ) hewlett, marshall, m and sherbin, l ( 2013 ), “ how diversity can drive innovation ”, harvard business review, december ; rock, d., halvorson, h. g. and grey, j ( 2016 ), “ diverse teams feel less comfortable – and that ’ s why they perform better ”, harvard business review, september ; sunstein, c. r. and hastie, r ( 2014 ), “ making dumb groups smarter ”, harvard business review, december. xi see page ( 2007 ). xii see e. g. page, e ( 2011 ), “ diversity and complexity ”, princeton university press. xiii see e. g. jansen, r and aelen, m ( 2015 ), “ biases in supervision : what are they and how can we deal with them? ”, dnb occasional studies. xiv see e. g. sibert, a ( 2006 ), “ central banking by committee ”, de nederlandsche bank working paper 91, february ; ball, l ( 2012 ), ben bernanke and the zero bound, nber working paper 17836, february ; warsh, k ( 2014 ), transparency and the bank of england ’ s monetary policy committee, december. xv see haldane, a ( 2016 ), one car, two car, red car, blue car, speech given in redcar december and bank underground blog for examples. xvi newton, l ( 1990 ) “ overconfidence in the communication of intent : heard and unheard melodies. ” unpublished doctoral dissertation ( stanford, ca : stanford university ) as cited in