![]() Date: 2025-08-22 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00004469 | |||||||||
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Burgess COMMENTARY Frankly I was appalled at the lack of insight by the so-called international experts. They wanted me to do analysis based on what the 'books' said, and they could not understand why an investor from China (mainland) or Hong Kong, or Taiwan, or Vietnam, or Thailand would be prepared to pay quite a large amount for a sawmill that had two bandsaws about 40 years old and a very rickety old shed. It was obvious to me that the value was that the sawmill had access to the timberlands of Laos and they were paying for this access. Based on this, I argued for ... but failed dismally ... to suspend the sale of these government properties until the Government of Laos had established a clear policy framework, plus the laws and regulations, for the exploitation of the timberlands of the country.
My professional colleagues in this work were all very highly qualified people based on their academic credentials ... but their willingness to get things right in the interests of the success of development (from the perspective of the beneficiaries) was seriously missing.
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The Importance Of ESG Analysis As a veteran of the institutional investment management industry for over two decades, I have seen a series of booms and busts in the market driven by irrational investor behavior, opacity of markets and lack of information. Managing global timber, infrastructure and agribusiness strategies affords a unique view on the market and reinforces the importance of conducting one’s research into specific issues around company fundamentals and sustainability (i.e., a company‘s capacity to prosper in a hyper-competitive and changing global business environment). Corporate governance issues have plagued investors particularly with respect to corporate management, transparency, and regulation in emerging markets. Three recent examples of this are Sino-Forest Corporation, China Forestry Holdings, and Cathay Forest Products. The environmental, social and governance (known as “ESG”) issues around Sino-Forest Corp which led to its current debacle were a confluence of events which included:
There is a history of other companies having governance issues as well: China Forestry Holdings - This Hong Kong listed company (listed since December 2009, but currently suspended) has 11% ownership by the Carlyle Group. According to the May 5, 2011 Wall Street Journal article “China Forestry Troubles Mount,” China Forestry's former management provided fake bank statements to auditor KPMG, doctored insurance-policies, and falsified logging permits for ~100,000 m3 of wood. In addition, its former CEO, Li Han Chun, was arrested on charges of embezzlement from the company in February 2011.As a signatory of the United Nations Principles of Responsible Investment (UNPRI) and current Chairman of a UNPRI workstream, I was fortunate to be included in a panel discussion at the recent Responsible Investment Conference in New York City earlier this month. Our discussion covered implementation of “sustainability screens” to address ESG issues that arise when making investments for our clients. During the panel, I addressed a question from the audience on measuring sustainability risk and how a professional money manager might analyze a potential investment on those merits. The key factors that should be examined are:
We place great store on both the role and importance of effective corporate governance and sustainable business practices in safeguarding the capital we commit to a business and in the promotion of good practice in these areas. Michael D. Underhill is the chief investment officer of Capital Innovations, research-intensive asset management firm that focuses on innovative alternative products which he established in 2007. Prior to founding Capital Innovations, he was a vice president of institutional accounts at Alliance Bernstein Institutional where he worked with some of the world’s largest corporate defined benefit plans. Prior to that, he was a vice president of institutional accounts at INVESCO. Before INVESCO, Underhill was with Janus Capital where he built up the nascent institutional fixed income money management capabilities as a complement to their burgeoning mutual fund business in the mid 1990s. Underhill is a founding member of the Steering Committee for the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment. The Steering Committee, together with the United Nations Secretariat, bears the ultimate responsibility for the Infrastructure Work Stream, related outputs, and regular reporting to the PRI Advisory Council. He is also the author of the bestselling “The Handbook of Infrastructure Investing” (Wiley 2010) and a faculty member at the CFA Institute where he teaches their infrastructure investing class to existing charter holders. |