EMIA Notes - March 13, 2023

1. Are Telcos Getting a Pass on Digital Rights? (TMT Program Webinar) Wednesday, March 15, 10 am EST / 2 pm GMT

2. Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Financial Inclusion and Sustainable Jobs (Financial Institutions Program Webinar) Thursday, March 16, 11 am EST / 3  pm GMT

3. ESG Data for Sovereign Bonds: The What, The Why, and The How (Debt and Fiscal Governance Program in conjunction with the PRI) Wednesday, March 22, 8 am EDT / 1 pm BST

4. Sustainability Challenges: Pulp and Paper Industries (Materials Program Webinar), Friday, March 24, 11 am EDT/ 3 pm GMT

5. Tax Transparency Issues and Their Impact on Extractive Companies (Extractive Industries Program Webinar) Tuesday, March 28, 10 am EDT / 3 pm BST

With the strong focus of media and regulators on Big Tech and its contributions to the ills of technology, Telcos often receive relatively less scrutiny on their human rights policies and practices. But they can generate even greater harm than tech platforms, while remaining even less transparent. As the primary providers of internet access globally, they must be held accountable.
This webinar will focus on the findings of the Ranking Digital Rights Telco Giants Scorecard 2022 with a focus on emerging markets. RDR is an independent research program and benchmark that brings together experts on a wide range of internet and human rights-related issues, including algorithms, data protection, ad tech, surveillance, censorship, and content governance.


Speakers:

Jessica Dheere, Director Ranking Digital Rights

Jan Rydzak, Company and Investor Engagement Manager Ranking Digital Rights

Maria Tinedo, TMT Program Director, EMIA (moderator)

This session, co-hosted by EMIA and the PRI, will help investors and other market participants understand where to find countries’ ESG data, what it shows, and how to use it. The World Bank will also present the new version of its Sovereign ESG Data Portal, which has many potential applications for government bond investors.
 
Introduction:

Carmen Nuzzo, Head of Fixed Income, PRI
Claire Meier Underhill, Head, Memberships & Partnerships, EMIA

 
Speakers:

Julien Moussavi, Ph.D., Senior Research Lead in Sovereign ESG at London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG)
Fiona Stewart, Lead Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank
Ann Frank Andresen, Head of Research, EM Debt, Nordea Asset Management 


Moderator: 

Jasper Cox, Investment Practices Analyst, Fixed Income, PRI


Register here on the BrightTalk platform. .

EMIA and its newly launched Materials Program are happy to announce its second webinar dedicated to this sector. It will be focused on the paper and forest products industry, specifically on deforestation, relevant risks and opportunities for investors, and the regulatory environment. 

According to a recent research report, while agriculture remains a major driver of deforestation, other industries such as pulp-and-paper and timber or extraction of fossil fuels and minerals contribute to 60% of the destruction of the Earth’s intact forest landscapes. This is happening largely in developing countries, where exports of commodities and wood products to other markets lead to local deforestation and affects biodiversity. Yet, given the global impact of climate change, this local destruction of intact forest landscapes affects the entire world. 

At our webinar, Tim Steinweg from Rainforest Foundation Norway and Ann Meoni from abrdn will discuss the causes and effects of deforestation. Implications for investors will be highlighted using a case study based on Indonesia’s pulp and paper industry. They will also use the example of recent EU legislation to explore the regulatory developments that are likely to evolve across the world.


Introduction:

Pavel Laberko, Director of the Extractive Industries Program, EMIA


Speakers:

Ann Meoni, Senior Sustainability Analyst – Natural capital, abrdn

Tim Steinweg, Senior Responsible Finance Adviser, Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN)

Samuel Bevan, Investment Director – EMD, abrdn (moderator)

Profit shifting and tax avoidance schemes carry significant legal, regulatory, and public image risks for companies and investors. It is often not easy to get a full picture based on aggregate taxes paid as shown in financial reports, even if a company reports its payments to governments (which only some businesses do comprehensively). Public country-by-country reporting would require companies to publicly list information on business activities, employees, revenues, profits, and tax on a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction basis. Do you think this breakdown would be useful to analysts and investment managers?


The Extractive Industries Program is maintaining its focus on corporate governance with our next webinar on transparency of taxes. Oxfam and the FACT Coalition are engaging with companies in the oil & gas sector and beyond to urge them to publish a GRI-aligned tax transparency report with public country-by-country reporting (pCBCR). They have had some success with large multinational players, and engagement with EM companies and banks is also on the rise. 


Daniel Mulé from Oxfam America and Ian Gary from the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition will discuss the importance of this aspect of corporate governance, share details on the evolving landscape of regulation and tax transparency disclosures, and offer some valuable investor recommendations and calls for action.

 
Speakers:

Daniel Mulé, Policy Lead, Extractive Industries Tax and Transparency, Oxfam America

Ian Gary, Executive Director, Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition

Veronica Ayzaguer, EMIA (moderator)

The Emerging Markets Investors Alliance seeks relationship managers with at least 10 years of experience in emerging market sales (debt or equity) or relationship management to engage asset managers in our initiatives.

Successful candidates will have a commitment to advancing responsible investing/ESG and a strong client book in their region(s) of focus. The position is remote and candidates may be based anywhere.

Interested candidates should send an email including their resume and/or LinkedIn profile mentioning “Relationship Manager - Asset Management” in the subject line to applicants@eminvestorsalliance.org.

The Emerging Markets Investors Alliance seeks relationship managers with at least 10 years of experience in emerging markets finance to engage stock exchanges in our initiatives.

The ideal candidate will have a commitment to advancing responsible investing/ESG, and a strong understanding of emerging and frontier equity markets, and relationships with stock exchanges. The position is remote and candidates may be based anywhere.

Interested candidates should send an email including their resume and/or LinkedIn profile mentioning “Relationship Manager - Stock Exchanges” in the subject line to applicants@eminvestorsalliance.org. 

The Emerging Markets Investors Alliance seeks volunteers to serve in a range of roles. We welcome interest from those with a range of skilled backgrounds including research and writing, editing, survey design, graphic design, and Drupal web development.

Interested candidates should send an email including your resume and/or Linkedin profile mentioning “Volunteer Opportunities” in the subject to applicants@eminvestorsalliance.org.

The Emerging Markets Investors Alliance (EMIA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to enable institutional investors to use the power of their collective capital and voices to advocate for a more sustainable future. EMIA "Programs" are activities that bring together investors, policy experts, and governments or companies for the purpose of improving ESG best practice adoption. EMIA Programs focus on sovereigns (e.g., Government Debt and Fiscal Governance Program, Sovereign Decarbonization) and on sectors (e.g., Agricultural Program, Extractive Industries, Financials Program and Telecom, Media, and Technology Program).