Hong Kong-listed Macau casino operator MGM China Holdings Ltd said in a Monday press release it had been added to the Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability Benchmark Index “with immediate effect”.
The firm stated this was based on its “outstanding performance in environmental, social and governance (ESG)” matters.
The announcement added: “MGM China is also evaluated as one of the top 20 percent… ESG performers within the 517 listed companies assessed in the Index’s evaluation exercise this year, and the only Macau-based company to be included as a member of the Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability Index Series in 2023-2024.”
MGM China runs the MGM Macau casino resort on the city’s peninsula, and the MGM Cotai property in Macau’s Cotai district.
Pansy Ho Chiu King, chairperson and executive director of MGM China, was cited as saying in Monday’s release: “We are determined to strengthen our sustainability governance, guiding us in operating our business and working with our stakeholders to benefit the people and environment in Macau as well as the Greater Bay Area.”
The latter was a reference to the Hong Kong-Guangdong-Macau Greater Bay Area, an initiative by China’s central government to connect more fully for economic and social purposes, the Hong Kong and Macau special administrative regions and the mainland province of Guangdong.
The index that MGM China has joined is part of the Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability Index Series, said to provide an objective and reliable benchmark for sustainability-related investments.
According to MGM China, only the top 20 percent of securities-issuers with the highest sustainability performance score can be selected as constituents of the Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability Benchmark Index. Review for the assessment is conducted annually and by invitation only.
The seven aspects rated by the assessment framework are said to include: corporate governance, human rights, labour practices, environment, fair operating practices, consumer issues, and community involvement and development.
