Responsible Investment
Our mission
Dragon Capital is an investment group focussed on generating competitive returns for investors, adding value to investee companies, and providing a desirable workplace for employees. The company is driven by a long-term commitment to responsible development of the environment, society, and economy of the countries in which it operates.
Our beliefs
We recognise that environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues can influence investment risk and thus portfolio performance. We believe that taking a strategic, long-term approach to responsible investing will create sustainable value for our company, our stakeholders, and the wider community, not just in an economic sense but also in the ESG context.
Our approach
Dragon Capital seeks to optimise risk-adjusted performance by integrating ESG factors throughout the investment process and across its actively managed funds, comprising public equity and bond funds.
ESG management system
Dragon Capital’s ESG management framework was a joint development effort between Dragon Capital and IFC’s ESG specialists, specifically developed for public equity and fixed income investments.
The below schematic summarizes the major steps of our ESG policy:
ESG core team
We have established an ESG core team, which comprises a cross-section of Dragon Capital’s senior directors and investment analysts. By integrating ESG knowledge into the investment team, we foster a strong ESG culture and keep ESG integration embedded in the daily work of our investment operations.
Active Ownership
We are committed to being an active owner of our investments. We have a fiduciary responsibility to act in the best interests of our clients by exercising our voting rights, engaging with investee companies, and in advocacy activities.
Voting Rights
Voting is essential to promoting good corporate governance. We ensure that our votes are cast in a diligent and prudent manner, based on our reasonable judgement of what will best serve the economic interests of our shareholders.
Engagement
We maintain regular dialogue with the management of all investee companies in order drive continuous improvement in corporate governance, including ESG practice and disclosure. This engagement helps protect and increase the economic value of those companies.
Advocacy
We view policy advocacy as essential for responsible investment and a key to strengthening the stability and integrity of the financial sector and delivering wider economic benefits.
You can find DCG's full exclusion list and Responsible Investment Policy here
Climate Change
We believe that climate change, GHG emission and biodiversity loss are interrelated and inseparable threats to businesses and communities. We are therefore evolving our capabilities to ensure that we meet our obligations of addressing this global challenge through our role as an active long-term investor. We continue to urge investee companies to work on energy efficiency, to shift towards renewable energy sources, and to disclose their carbon footprint. We actively engage with policy makers and offer constructive suggestions.
Biodiversity
The Dragon Capital Chair in Biodiversity Economics at the University of Exeter.
Dragon Capital has engaged in philanthropic partnerships with the University of Exeter in the UK and The Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resource and Environment (“ISPONRE”) in Vietnam to address the central question of whether there is any correlation between biodiversity and the success of the economy and whether individuals and organisations can, and should, place an economic value on biodiversity.
Carbon Neutrality
Dragon Capital has been carbon neutral for scope one and two activities, since 2005. This is achieved through biogas offset programs established by the Netherlands Development Organisation and Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. 179,000 biogas plants were built in 55 provinces, benefiting 850,000 Vietnamese users over the lifespan of the project, and eliminating approx. 480,000 tons of CO2 annually. The program is certified as “Gold Standard of Voluntary Carbon Emission Reductions”.
The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
We support and encourage the adoption of the TCFD’s recommendations and, together with other metrics, use these as part of our framework to assess climate related risks and opportunities linked to our portfolio. This helps us obtain a better understanding the potential financial implications in the short, medium, and long-term under different climate scenarios.
Insight Discussion
ESG Collaborations
By joining forces with leading international and local organisations in sustainability initiatives, we underline our ambition and approach to responsible investing and good corporate governance.
Member Since 2010
IIGCC is an investor network on climate change; the group works with business and policy makers, as well as investors, to help mobilise capital for the transition to a more sustainable economy
Member Since 2010
ACGA is an independent organisation dedicated to implementing effective corporate governance practices throughout Asia. ACGA believes that good governance is fundamental to the region’s economies and capital markets.
Member Since 2013
PRI initiative is a network of international investors working together to put the six Principles for Responsible Investment into practice. In implementing the Principles, signatories contribute to the development of a more sustainable global financial system.
Member Since 2013
Nexus for Development drives access to finance in developing economies across Asia to increase sustainable energy and water resource development, advance climate-positive solutions, and scale local implementers.
Member Since 2018
Established in 2018, VIOD aims to advance board professionalism, promote business ethics and transparency, create a pool of independent directors, build a network to connect corporate leaders and stakeholders, and help companies gain investor confidence.
Member Since 1997
VBF is an on-going policy dialogue channel between the Government of Vietnam and the business community towards a favorable business environment since 1997. Established with the aim at supporting the formation and development of the capital market, and the institutions that populate them, the CMWG has initiated suggestions for favourable changes in the market.
Appointed in May 2020
The creation of the “Dragon Capital Chair in Biodiversity Economics”
will look to address the central question of whether there is any correlation between biodiversity and the success of the economy and whether individuals and organisations can, and should, place an economic value on biodiversity.
Strategic agreement to strengthen biodiversity since 2019.
Undertakes the E&S valuation of Ca Mau’s wetland and Pu Mat National Park that demonstrates the economic value of biodiversity and the consequences of its degradation. Thus, advocating for mainstreaming considerations for the conservation and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems values.
Co-organiser and sole sponsor since 2008
VLCA was initiated in 2008 by Dragon Capital, and co-organized with the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, the Hanoi Stock Exchange, and the Vietnam Investment Review. Since 2013 there has been a further ESG awareness push, and in a more general industry-wide initiative, VLCA’s organisers launched Sustainability Reporting Awards, and Best Corporate Governance Awards.