CBE Governor Applauds New Milestone in Taiwan – Eswatini Co-operation

March 4, 2024

On March 4, the Central Bank Governor, Dr. Phil Mnisi, witnessed a new milestone in the Taiwan-Eswatini Cooperation when the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) and the Taiwan Carbon Solution Exchange (TCX) separately signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Eswatini Stock Exchange (ESE) in Taiwan. The Kingdom of Eswatini is one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, making the MoU signing a response to Taiwan’s foreign policy efforts and a significant milestone for the cooperation between Taiwan and Eswatini capital markets.

The Governor was invited alongside Financial Supervisory Commission Vice Chairperson, Tsuey-Ling Hsiao and the MoU ceremony signees were TWSE President, Lih-Chung Chien, TCX CEO, Joshua Tien as well as ESE CEO, Ncamiso Ntshalintshali. Stressing the importance of the MoU signing, the Governor stated that the proposed twinning of the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation (TWSE) with the Eswatini Stock Exchange (ESE) and the establishment of the Eswatini Carbon Exchange (ESX) in partnership with Taiwan’s Carbon Solutions Exchange (TCX) will significantly bolster both nations’ capital markets.

Ncamiso Ntshalintshali, CEO of the ESE, expressed his gratitude that the ESE stands to gain a lot in terms of human capital capacitation and market infrastructure technology from the TWSE as one of the top stock exchanges in the world, while also responding to climate change and climate finance through the establishment of the Eswatini Carbon Exchange with experience from the TCX.

Mr. Lih-Chung Chien, President of the TWSE, stated that the MoU brings multiple benefits. First, it is a positive response to our government’s “Africa Plan” and aligns with President Tsai’s expectations of enhancing Taiwan-Africa relations. Second, it marks the first cooperation between Taiwan and its diplomatic ally in the field of capital market, bearing significant symbolic meaning. Last but not the least, the collaboration facilitates Taiwan to share experience to the world and strengthen Taiwan’s international influence.

Climate Change

The collaboration is expected to extend beyond financial benefits, and provide a framework to combat climate change – a pressing issue for both countries. The Paris Agreement’s Article 6 was seen as a solution, enabling bilateral cooperation through carbon credit trading. This paves the way for countries to fulfill their climate change commitments.

“We are all in agreement that climate change is a major challenge. Eswatini in particular in recent years has been experiencing an increase in the frequency and severity of climate-related hazards inclusive of floods, droughts, heatwaves and this presents us with challenges as we seek to achieve our sustainable development goals, “ the Governor acknowledged in his remarks.

Taiwan’s launch of its Carbon Solutions Exchange was commended as a strong commitment to climate action. Eswatini expressed optimism that by leveraging their existing strong relations, they can learn from Taiwan’s experiences and improve their climate change mitigation strategies. Texray Industrial Company was recognized for its instrumental role in facilitating this cooperation on carbon markets, solidifying their position as a valuable friend to Eswatini.

Mr. Joshua Tien, CEO of the TCX, mentioned that the TCX and ESE MoU establishes a long-term cooperation mechanism for the carbon credit business between Taiwan and Eswatini, fostering the communication channels expanding ongoing relationships. Both parties will first exchange carbon credit-related information and further expand the cooperation to areas such as talent training and core business experience sharing in the future. “We look forward to the future trading of carbon credits between Eswatini and Taiwanese entities,” the Governor said.

“This new cooperation provides us with an opportunity to issue sustainability and green bonds across the two countries, and the possibility for Eswatini to mobilize foreign exchange earnings as a means to boost foreign exchange reserves,” the Governor further explained. He concluded by extending his appreciation to the teams behind the scenes who tirelessly work hard to deliver the momentous occasion.