Green Finance Action Plan 3.0

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"The 2023 CTBC Ladies Open" drew a record-breaking attendance of over 8,000 spectators.

The thrilling "2023 CTBC Ladies Open" concluded today (May 13), featuring a prize pool of 30 million Japanese yen (approximately 7 million New Taiwan dollars). Mio Kotaki, a skilled Japanese player, emerged victorious with a total score of 204 strokes over three rounds. The CTBC Lady Golf Stars, sponsored by CTBC Commercial Bank, delivered impressive performances, with Chia-Yen Wu, Jessica Peng, and Ya-Chun Chang securing second, third, and fourth places, respectively. The event attracted a remarkable single-day attendance of 4,986 spectators, reaching a cumulative total of 8,045 attendees over the three days, setting a new attendance record for CTBC's women's golf events in the past 12 years.

The successful "2023 CTBC Ladies Open" ended at the Orient Golf & Country Club in Taoyuan City. During the award ceremony, Mr. Thomas Chen, Vice Chairman of CTBC Financial Holding Company, and Mr. James Chen, President, presented the championship trophy and a 5.4 million Japanese yen prize to Mio Kotaki. President Chen expressed his special gratitude to JLPGA President Hiromi Kobayashi for overcoming various challenges to participate in this inaugural JLPGA overseas joint-certified tournament in Taiwan. He also extended his appreciation to all the fans and staff members who supported the event, contributing to the creation of an internationally acclaimed and exhilarating competition. Furthermore, he congratulated Mio Kotaki on her first professional championship in Taiwan and conveyed his respect to all the participating players, ensuring an enthralling golf event for everyone in attendance.

In the initial round, Mio Kotaki and Chia-Yen Wu were tied for the lead, while Chia-Yen Wu maintained a two-stroke advantage over Mio Kotaki in the second round. Today, Mio Kotaki exhibited exceptional skill and staged a remarkable comeback, securing the championship with six birdies. Although Chia-Yen Wu encountered some turbulence in the final round, she received resounding applause from the spectators for her outstanding performance, finishing just one stroke behind the champion with a total score of 205. Chia-Yen Wu regretted her errors today but hoped for better performances and achievements in future competitions. Chia-Yen Wu's mother was present at the match, making her runner-up title an exceptional "Mother's Day gift."

Jessica Peng and Ya-Chun Chang, representing the CTBC Lady Golf Stars, claimed third and fourth positions, respectively. Jessica Peng began the tournament in ninth place but staged an impressive comeback in the third round, scoring an eagle and securing the third-place finish with a total score of 208. On the other hand, Ya-Chun Chang climbed five spots in the final round, attaining fourth place with a total score of 210. Following the competition, Jessica Wu, Ya-Chun Chang, and Ho-Yu An from the CTBC Lady Golf Stars, alongside Japanese players Ayako Uehara and Megumi Mamiya, held a fan signing session, engaging closely with the enthusiastic fans.

The "2023 CTBC Ladies Open" brought together 108 golfers, including returning overseas players, elite Taiwan Tour athletes, and participants from Japan and Thailand. This gathering showcased their exceptional golf skills on a grand scale. CTBC arranged limited-entry gifts, food stalls, and exciting prize draws to encourage fan participation and support for the players. As a highlight, Mr. Weng, one of the attending spectators, was fortunate enough to win the grand prize—an alluring round-trip business-class ticket worth NT$220,000 provided by China Airlines for the Taipei-Prague route.

CTBC Bank tackles plastic waste with 6,000 recycled umbrellas

CTBC Bank has partnered with Chunghwa Telecom to distribute 6,000 courtesy umbrellas made from recycled plastic bottles in support of World Environment Day’s Beat Plastic Pollution campaign.

The umbrellas will be available starting Sept. 1 for customers to borrow and return free of charge at 154 CTBC Bank branches and over 400 Chunghwa Telecom service centers nationwide, in the process also raising public awareness of plastic reduction and the circular economy.

The severity of the plastic waste crisis is underscored by the fact that over 400 million tons of plastic products are produced annually, with half of this waste comprising single-use plastics and with less than 10 percent recycled.

To combat this environmental challenge, CTBC Bank and Chunghwa Telecom have rallied behind the Sparkling Umbrella campaign, which was launched by the Vision Project Foundation with a ceremony on June 5, aligning with the 50th anniversary of World Environment Day.

The initiative aims to foster a sense of shared responsibility toward ESG principles among the participating businesses’ employees and customers alike, including by promoting a culture of using eco-friendly remanufactured products to reduce carbon emissions and plastic consumption.

Roger Kao, chief administration officer of CTBC Bank’s parent company, CTBC Holding, emphasized the financial industry's key role in accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy and promoting sustainability.

CTBC Bank's involvement in the initiative not only demonstrates a commitment to preserving biodiversity but also underscores its implementation of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals through effective partnerships and collaborative efforts, Kao said.

Highlighting the alarming environmental impact of plastic waste on oceans, the U.N. Environment Programme has cautioned that approximately 11 million tons of plastic waste enter oceans annually — and that this figure could double by 2040.

Fortunately, there is a growing global consensus on building a circular economy; data from the Ministry of Environment, for example, shows that some 114,000 tons of plastic bottles were recycled in 2022.

The CTBC Holding group has a long-standing commitment to biodiversity conservation. In 2014, it moved to CTBC Financial Park, which it had newly built to meet strict green building standards. It also adopted the neighboring Sanchong World Trade Park and planted 131 species of ferns and native plants, creating Taiwan's first outdoor fern sanctuary.

More recently, the company rallied nearly 300 staff members and their families across various locations, including Jinshan in New Taipei City, Dayuan in Taoyuan, and Qigu in Tainan, to plant more than 6,000 saplings to help protect Taiwan's coastline from erosion. It has also signed on to the Partnership for Biodiversity Accounting Financials to work on biodiversity issues with over 40 financial institutions around the world.

CTBC Holding said its participation in the initiative was in line with its membership in the Financial Supervisory Commission’s Coalition of Movers and Shakers on Sustainable Finance, through which it is supporting the government’s goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050.

The company has also announced its decision to end active and passive investments in thermal coal extraction industries as well as financing and project financing for new customers in ESG-sensitive sectors. By 2035, the company will have fully withdrawn all financing for the thermal coal extraction, thermal coal power generation, and unconventional oil and gas extraction industries.

Sparkling Umbrella campaign website：

CTBC Holding earns top honor at ESG awards

CTBC Holding has again been recognized for its dedication to the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals and related international initiatives and public welfare efforts, winning the Exemplary Model Award in the Finance and Insurance category at Global Views Monthly’s 2023 ESG Corporate Sustainability Awards.

The magazine cited CTBC Holding’s impact finance investments, active participation in global initiatives, introduction of inclusive financial products and low-carbon personal financial services, and implementation of responsible governance.

Judges also had special praise for the company being the first in Taiwan to meet the government’s stringent new capital standards, which will take effect in 2025.

Accepting the award from Feng Chia University chair professor of human language Shih-Chun Hsu, CTBC Holding senior vice president Sam Lin noted that CTBC Holding is the first chair of the Financial Supervisory Commission’s Coalition of Movers and Shakers on Sustainable Finance and was supporting the government’s push to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 by accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy.

As an example, Lin pointed to subsidiary CTBC Bank, which served as the financial adviser and lead arranger for the Changfang & Xidao, Greater Changhua 1, and ZhongNeng offshore wind power projects, with syndicated loans exceeding NT$200 billion.

In addition, CTBC Holding has established Taiwan’s first blockchain-based green electricity trading platform to provide a one-stop shop for green energy transactions. Integrating multiple payment tools, the platform is an innovative collection model for merchants, consumers and payment operators. It also uses a paperless model that is environmentally friendly and achieves low-carbon operating goals.

CTBC Holding’s proactive sustainability efforts are further highlighted by its formal integration of a 2050 net-zero emissions target into its group development blueprint. The company also became the first Taiwanese member of the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), in which it has served as the Asia-Pacific chair and the only Asia-based member of its Global Core Team. Furthermore, it was the first company in Taiwan to join the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, helping develop the group’s framework.

Lin added that, through its robust risk management capabilities, CTBC Holding is actively working toward the SDGs and solidifying its position as a leader in sustainability.

In line with its “We are family” brand, CTBC Holding has continually engaged in charitable endeavors spanning charity, sports, anti-drug awareness, education, and arts and culture. Its innovative approaches to corporate social responsibility include initiatives like the Light Up a Life campaign for disadvantaged children, which is Taiwan’s longest-running private fundraiser.

Other notable initiatives include sponsorship of the CTBC Brothers pro-baseball team, the CTBC Black Panther Pennant high school baseball tournament, and the CTBC Charity Foundation's Taiwan Dream Project, which provides educational and nutritional services for children in remote communities.

The success of such efforts have been verified by social return on investment evaluations. The CTBC Charity Foundation’s Love & Arts for Dreams Initiatives Project, which has supported the arts education of over 2,000 students in rural areas, was found to yield NT$4.18 of social value for every NT$1 invested, while the CTBC Brothers delivered a return of NT$17.59.

By using its brand influence to maintain a “cycle of kindness,” CTBC Holding is generating ongoing positive impacts in Taiwan, the company said.

One way it delivers these positive impacts is through the CTBC Poverty Alleviation Program, a pioneering initiative that provides microloans and entrepreneurship counseling to the parents of disadvantaged families. The program has so far helped 651 families start their own businesses, with over 40% of these families having already achieved self-sufficiency and lifted themselves out of poverty.

CTBC Holding’s inclusive finance efforts extend beyond Taiwan, too. The company has joined hands with international microfinance institutions to offer microcredit services in the Philippines, India, Vietnam, and elsewhere, thereby fulfilling the U.N.’s SDGs.

Global Views Monthly has organized the ESG Corporate Social Responsibility Awards since 2005, when it became the first Chinese-language media outlet to evaluate companies based on their CSR and ESG performance. For this year’s awards, judges assessed 236 organizations on criteria including strategic planning for corporate sustainability, low-carbon economy, disclosure transparency, and corporate governance.