From sustainability accounting to a green financing system: Institutional legitimacy and market heterogeneity in a global financial centre

This study aims to explore the phenomenon of the adoption of sustainability accounting, sustainable financing and relevant regulatory measures for the development of a green financing system in an emerging global financial centre under the influence of sustainable global development. As Hong Kong, the Global Financial Centre of China (GFCC), emerges as a regional green finance hub, a framework of the circumstantial developments that contribute to the development of a green financing system is illustrated. It suggests a top-down approach of institutional legitimacy for sustainability influenced by a national policy and enhanced through a market-based finance approach in the GFCC. Adopting a multiple-case study approach, this paper reveals three cases of sizable listed enterprises notable for their heterogeneous approaches to embracing risk governance, sustainable accounting and financing in their issuance of green bonds. A theoretical framework is proposed over the mutually reinforcing effects of legitimate policy and market-based finance that engender the convergence of a green financing system. The implications for the integrity of a green financing system in relation to sustainability controls and cleaner production are articulated.