A year ago this time, the world started waking up to the deadly serious threat of Covid-19. But it is not all gloom and doom. This health emergency triggered companies to rethink their business models accelerating their adoption of digital technology. As Alexis Ohanian, co-founder of Reddit shared at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES): “Tech and software adoption that previously could have taken four to five years happened in four to five months.”

His comments plus a number of other speakers at CES, usually held in Las Vegas, and Hong Kong’s annual Asian Financial Forum, which was also held virtually, covered a lot of the conversations around the impact of blockchain as a foundation for remaking the world of money and finance. You can read about it in this issue’s cover story on The future of finance, and articles on digital assets, reshaping of market infrastructure, and the impact on Islamic finance.

The other, equally important and accelerating trend is the focus on environmental, social, governance (ESG) principles. The Asset’s Triple A Sustainable Capital Markets country and regional awards are featured in this issue. Governments such as the Kingdom of Thailand, banks such as Bank of China, and corporates such as Zhenro Properties Group, are one in taking steps to address not just the immediate challenges from the Covid-19 crisis, but also dealing with the pressing need to embrace sustainability. How is your company taking sustainability forward? Please share your thoughts with us especially what you intend to be the priorities of 2021 and beyond.

Finally, as in previous years, the nominees for the best financial institutions in this year’s The Asset Triple A Sustainable Capital Markets Awards will be announced on the 18th of March 2021 in a virtual ceremony. If you are interested to join and find out which companies won in 2021, please click here.