SHANGHAI, Sept. 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Morgan Stanley Capital International's (MSCI) latest set of ESG ratings, 3SBio has been upgraded to BBB status, surpassing that of 61% of companies in the global biotechnology industry.
MSCI ESG ratings focus on ESG issues that have a substantial impact on the industry at the environmental, social and corporate governance levels to measure a firm's level of risk exposure and its management capacities. The continuous upgrading of 3SBios' MSCI ESG rating reflects that the company's ESG-related initiatives are becoming increasingly sound and ensuring low potential risk, and that its overall ESG management work is outperforming the global biotechnology industry.
Previously granted a B-rating in 2016, and BB-ratings in 2017 and 2018, the current upgrade to a BBB-rating demonstrates 3SBio efforts to consistently improve its ESG management through a robust top-down approach. The steady improvement in the firm's ESG rating is directly tied to 3SBio's commitment to being environmentally and socially responsible throughout its operations, as well as its long focus on and continuous investments in ESG management initiatives. Today this work has yielded further recognition in the capital market and provided investors with excellent results.
Ms. Liu Yanli, Vice President and Secretary of 3SBio Group's Board of Directors has said, "3SBio Group's Board of Directors has always attached great importance to the promotion of ESG management. Every year, the Board of Directors makes special reports on the progress and performance of ESG management, and defines the work objectives and action plans for the following year so as to steadily advance their effective implementation. 3SBio will continue to be responsible to its investors, create more economic value and social benefits, and use direct actions to fulfill its corporate mission."
About MSCI ESG Rating
Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI), is an international company that specializes in providing global indexes and related derivative financial products. MSCI global equity indexes are among the most widely used investment targets for global portfolio managers.
Environment, social and governance, often abbreviated as ESG, refers to three key non-financial factors that influence investment decisions. MSCI closely monitors the impact of ESG factors on the long-term risks and returns of institutional portfolios, and with this knowledge, provides ESG ratings for major listed companies throughout the world. The ESG ratings are divided into seven grades, from high to low they are: AAA, AA, A, BBB, BB, B and CCC. Due to their independence, consistency and openness of MSCI ESG ratings have become well-recognized as an important investment criterion by major investment institutions around the world.
Chinese capital markets and listed companies are also increasingly being influenced by the international ESG field. In 2018, MSCI included 234 large-cap listed companies in the index, while research reports published in June of that year showed a majority of A-share listed companies' MSCI ESG ratings were primarily at the CCC and B level of ratings, with less than 20% of the companies achieving a BBB rating or higher. These results demonstrate the challenges Chinese listed companies are facing in improving their ESG management and performance.
