Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp Ltd (OCBC), South-East Asia’s second-largest lender, said two Vietnamese coal-fired power plants will be the last it finances as it increases funding for renewable projects. CEO, Samuel Tsien, said “we won’t do any new coal-fired power generation plants in any countries, except for the power projects that we are already in, or we have committed to.” OCBC hopes that by doing this, they will encourage governments to facilitate arrangements for countries to move from coal to renewable sources. At least 100 major lenders have put restrictions in the past five years on mines that produce coal and power plants that burn it. Lenders’ decisions reflect the rising recognition of coal’s role in climate change, and the potential for the fuel and facilities that rely on it to become obsolete before investments in them are paid off. OCBC is increasing its efforts to finance renewable energy projects and currently funds more than 20 solar farms in Malaysia, as well as wind projects in Australia and Taiwan.

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The Malaysian Reserve