loomberg and MSCI Inc. have launched the Bloomberg Barclays MSCI Emerging Market Asia Credit ESG index suite for investors, which tracks the performance of the emerging market US dollar-denominated credit debt in the Asia ex-Japan region, while incorporating measures for environmental, social and governance risk and exposures.

“We are reaching a tipping point where investor demand for seamless integration of sustainability principles in investments is driving demand for new indexes, tools and analytics across all asset classes," says Jana Haines, head of index products for the Americas and EMEA and global head of fixed income index products at MSCI. "We are delighted to collaborate with Bloomberg to offer investors this new ESG index suite, enabling them to better manage their investment portfolios.”

The ESG series has three flagship ESG index variants to meet different ESG investment approaches. These variants are based on the Bloomberg Barclays Emerging Market Asia USD Credit Index, and additional ESG eligibility criteria and/or weighting schemes are applied to arrive at this new ESG benchmark index family.

"Conversations about ESG investing have accelerated on the back of the current pandemic, with investors also looking to diversify their portfolios and search for yields with emerging market assets, especially in Asia," notes Ji Zhuang, APAC head of indices at Bloomberg. “The newly-launched index suite addresses global investor appetite for more ESG considerations and risk management in their emerging market benchmarks, and we look forward to launching new products for the market."

With a 47-year tradition, the Bloomberg Barclays Indices are the most widely-used indices for fixed income investors seeking objective, rules-based and representative benchmarks to measure asset class risk and returns. It offers comprehensive market coverage, including global fixed income, inflation-linked and swap benchmark indices.