From 2015, Cathay Life has been voluntarily adopting the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), and became the first signatory as an insurance service provider to the Taiwan Stewardship Principles for Institutional Investors issued by TWSE in 2016. Since 2017, we have published a Stewardship Report on a yearly basis; in 2020, we added details regarding our responsible investments in the report. These efforts demonstrate our determination as an institutional investor to fulfill the requirements of stewardship and responsible investment, and make us the first insurance company in Taiwan to fully disclose relevant measures.
Cathay Life is the first insurance company in Taiwan to establish a responsible investment working group. At the end of 2016, fixed-income, equity, alternative investment and financial planning departments jointly established the Responsible Investment Working Group to set up goals as well as yearly implementation plans in order to advance and perfect our sustainable investment project.
As of the end of 2021, Cathay Life Insurance had approximately 47 members in its working group, 3 of whom are dedicated responsible investment officers. In 2022, we established a dedicated unit to take charge of overseeing and planning responsible investment matters to continuously improve sustainable investment projects.
In order to lower the overall risks of investment portfolios and refine the sustainability actions of responsible investment,
Cathay Life is the first insurance company in Taiwan to establish ESG Risk Review Procedures.
When investing in stocks and bonds, we must consider the financial and non-financial performances of the investee companies, and adopt ESG risk review procedures such as comply-or-explain and escalation process.
Owing to the tremendous impact of corporate sustainability development on business operations, which in turn affects the rights and interests of institutional investors, Cathay Life believes that constant communication with investee companies to attach importance to ESG risks and opportunities is the best way to increase value for all parties involved. Hence, in 2017, we established the “Stewardship Principles” and interacted with investee companies (the performance of 2021 are as follows) through dialogue, engagement and proxy voting, thus demonstrating our stewardship measurement through active ownership. More details are shown in Insurance Responsible Investment and Stewardship Report and Proxy Voting Report.
Dialogue |
|
|
Communicate with senior management, investor relations departments, or CSR units of investee companies via telephone conferences, forums, investor seminars, or attendance to shareholders’ meetings |
|
|
|
|
A total of 2,120 participants |
A total of 2,164visits to 596 companies |
Engagement |
|
We choose “climate change” and “ESG rating improvement” to be our main engagement themes, encouraging our investee companies to manage ESG, and hope to maximize benefits for the stakeholders of both Cathay Life and our investee companies, and facilitate a virtuous cycle for society. More engagement actions : Support Initiatives and Expand Influence |
|
Proxy Voting |
|
|
Attend to shareholders’ meetings, and exercise of voting rights to express our opinions on proposals. ESG proposals that obstruct the sustainable developm ent of investee companies will not in principle win our support. |
|
|
|
Attended a total of 217 shareholders’ meetings |
Voted on 1,492 proposals |
As one of the largest institutional investors in Taiwan, we are convinced that through Cathay Life’s core competency of investment, we can properly utilize the funds of shareholders and policyholders to support investment targets that focus on sustainable development. From encouraging the development of upright companies and ethical behavior to changing other companies, we can make our environment more sustainable, retain long-term viability of our operations, mitigate the impact of ESG risks, and generate positive economic benefits, all in order to establish a model for corporate accountability and create a sustainable future.
In 2016, Cathay Life initiated a model of joint venture with solar energy service providers in the form of special projects. Under this model, we have successively formed joint investments in the following companies: Taixu Energy (with Sino-American Silicon Products); Xinritai Co., Ltd. (with Neo Solar Power); and Solar Master Energy (with Power Master Group), thus promoting solar power industrial clusters and setting an example for other companies in the insurance industry.
As of the end of 2021, the total amount of investment approved by the Financial Supervisory Commission amounted to NT$4.3 billion.
Since 2016, Cathay has ensured that all architectural designs commissioned for development-related investments conform to green building design principles. As of the end of 2021, we have constructed 17 green buildings, obtained green building certificates for 21 construction projects, and invested NT$ 75.1 billion in green building financial development.
In support of the first round of green bond issuance in Taiwan, Cathay Life purchased US$30 million in green bonds (approximately 17% of the total amount issued in the first round), while the total invested in green domestic and foreign bonds by Cathay as of the end of 2021 amounted to NT$19.5 billion.
Cathay Life is the first life insurer in Taiwan to establish a joint venture with a water resources supplier. We hope that areas can have better public water supply by investing in public sewage treatment and water resources development. As of the end of 2021, our total investment amounted to NT$7.6 billion.
Cathay Life has invested in infrastructure-related industries to fund sustainable urban development and change people’s lifestyle. As of the end of 2021, our total investment reached NT$674 billion.
Health is a prerequisite for human survival, and aging population will cause tremendous impact and demand on the medical system. Cathay Life actively invests in health-related industries such as drug development and biotechnology. As of the end of 2021, our total investment reached NT$361.1 billion.
Upholding our philosophy of being "people-oriented," which is incorporated into our core competencies of investment, Cathay Life invests in industries related to education and microfinance, hoping to contribute to the realization of inclusive finance. As of the end of 2021, our total investment reached NT$3.4 billion.
In 2021, Cathay Life Insurance will take further steps to engage in impact investing, which tackles social integration, educational and environmental resource requirements, medical care, and quality of living. To accomplish this, Cathay Life Insurance has invested NT$$880 million.
