KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 -- The RFI Foundation and Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre (DIEDC) organised a half-day roundtable event on responsible and sustainable finance, hosted by Bank Negara Malaysia.

In a statement today, it said more than 60 participants representing Islamic banks, key asset owners, environmental, social and governance (ESG)-focused asset management firms, government officials and regulators, including a delegation from the United Arab Emirates attended the roundtable.

RFI Foundation chief executive officer Blake Goud said the non-profit organisation has been working with its members and will continue to work with other Islamic banks on addressing the ESG risks embedded in their balance sheets.

The participants of the roundtable expressed optimism in their ability to use responsible and sustainable finance to redefine their value creation model, it said.

It was further agreed that responsible and sustainable finance practices such as ESG consideration could be used as an important tool to manage investor engagement, which is increasingly focusing on ESG issues.

The RFI Foundation is a non-profit organisation with a mission to identify a neutral, nonpartisan and universal value proposition that encourages convergence of responsible finance practices.

-- BERNAMA