Should investors consider EM corporate issuers for sustainable and responsible investment strategies?

With global growth accelerating, emerging market (EM) corporate fundamentals continue to improve. Moreover, EM corporate bonds offer attractive valuations in the current low-yield environment.

But for investors sensitive to responsible investing, this asset class is often disregarded. How the industry can prevent 'greenwash' on ethical investing Indeed, when one mentions the idea of including environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria or positive impact selection in constructing emerging market (EM) corporate bond portfolios, the first reaction is often one of scepticism.  Admittedly, ESG norms and requirements can be looser in some EM countries, and news headlines have pointed to cases of poor practices involving, for instance, child labour, water pollution or ...