Cathay Financial Holdings Accelerates Asia’s Climate and Nature Transition in the Decade of Implementation

At COP30, Cathay FHC unveils a regional roadmap for climate and nature finance—mobilizing capital, expanding bankable projects, and calling for exponential progress toward a net-zero, nature-positive future. 

By George Hu, Regional Representative, Asia, World Climate Foundation 

At COP30 in Belém, Cathay Financial Holdings (Cathay FHC) reinforced its leadership as one of Asia’s most influential financial institutions advancing climate and nature solutions. Through an expanded Blue Zone presence, participation in high-level dialogues, and delivering the opening keynote at the World Climate Summit (WCS), Cathay FHC emphasized a clear strategic message: the world has entered the Decade of Implementation, and Asia must lead its momentum.

Anchored in its vision to become "the premier financial institution in the Asia-Pacific region,” Cathay FHC continues to scale its regional reach. The group now operates 969 branches and offices across Asia, serving more than 15.3 million customers, and managing over $400 billion in assets. Cathay Financial Holdings is deeply cultivating the Asian market. Taking Cathay United Bank (CUB) as an example, this core subsidiary is strengthening both corporate and consumer banking in Southeast Asia while enhancing collaboration and resource integration across its overseas network. CUB’s footprint includes branches in Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Laos; subsidiaries in Mainland China and Cambodia; a joint venture bank in Vietnam; and representative offices in Thailand and Indonesia.

CUB is also expanding its influence in project finance and cross-border transactions, with a focus on renewable energy, and sustainable finance. It has participated in major syndicated data-center projects in Malaysia, and partnered with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to finance Vietnam’s Ninh Thuận onshore wind project. In Singapore, CUB structured a green trade loan to advance sustainable aviation fuel production.

At COP30, Cathay FHC outlined a comprehensive roadmap to accelerate climate and nature investments, centered on financial innovation, public–private collaboration, and science-based integrity.

One of the most urgent challenges spotlighted was the global clean-energy investment gap, with an annual shortfall of $500 billion, the deficit threatens to slow the world’s progress toward net zero. Speaking at the World Climate Summit on behalf of Cathay FHC, Michael Wen, CUB Executive Vice President, emphasized three strategic priorities: scaling the bankability of net-zero projects through blended finance and risk-mitigation tools; diversifying project pipelines across solar, energy storage, offshore wind, and sustainable infrastructure; and strengthening grid and energy-system resilience through financing for renewable energy and battery storage assets. Cathay FHC also stressed that financial inclusion and capacity-building are essential to ensuring SMEs, local communities, and emerging markets advance together in the transition.

Cathay FHC President C.K. Lee, in his third consecutive WCS opening address, called on global leaders to create a “Moore’s Law for climate and nature”—a principle of exponential acceleration applied to sustainable investment. Lee noted that the decade following the Paris Agreement represented the Decade of Commitment, while the coming decade must become the Decade of Implementation, where ambition is converted into large-scale, replicable, and transformative action. He expressed optimism driven by rising sustainable capital flows, advances in industrial decarbonization, rapid adoption of regenerative and circular business models, and growing climate finance leadership from the Global South.

At the COP30 Blue Zone, Cathay FHC strengthened its leadership in climate and nature finance through a joint forum with the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC) and the World Climate Foundation. In the discussion, Wen highlighted nature finance as the next major frontier for innovation in Asia and outlined a suite of emerging models: (1) Green loans and bonds dedicated to reforestation, wetland conservation, and green procurement; (2) Sustainability-linked instruments embedded with nature-related KPIs and performance-based pricing incentives; and (3) Science-based biodiversity credit methodologies developed in partnership with local sustainable-farming experts and the Taiwan University Experimental Forest, positioning Cathay FHC at the forefront of nature-credit innovation in the region.

COP30 underscored a new reality: Asia is emerging not only as a global manufacturing engine, but also as a center of climate and nature innovation. Cathay FHC is proud to help lead this transformation—mobilizing capital, empowering businesses, and accelerating the region’s transition toward a net-zero, nature-positive, and inclusive future. As President C.K. Lee remarked: “When the next heatwave strikes or floods return, I hope we can say we not only saw the problems—we delivered the solutions to where they were needed most.”

Looking ahead, Cathay FHC calls on governments, financial institutions, industry leaders, scientists, and civil society to build a true “Moore’s Law for climate and nature.” The world can no longer rely on incremental progress; this is the moment to accelerate bold and transformative action that delivers durable impact for the next generation.