Each week providers bring to market ever more inventive eco-friendly, or socially responsible, structured products. It's becoming a market in itself. Now, Maybank in Singapore has launched what it claims is the first structured deposit linked directly to palm oil prices.
In its press release the bank claims that the investment product (details of which can be seen here) is 'eco-friendly.' I have to admit that I'm not sure the term can be applied in this instance.
Although I witnessed many environmental rallies and spoke with many 'eco warriors' during my time at college in Berkeley, I admit I'm largely ignorant of the environmental woes of our planet. Like everyone else I read about environmental devastation in our daily papers but my knowledge isn't exhaustive.
One thing I do know, however, is that the production of palm oil has some unpleasant impacts. I've read a number of articles, and seen a number of documentaries, about how large areas of tropical forest are being cleared to make room for palm oil plantations, destroying the habitat of a number of endangered species, in particular, the orangutan populations on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.
So is investing in palm oil-linked products really environmentally sound? Or is the term 'eco-friendly' now just being used as a marketing gimmick?
To learn more about the plight of orangutans, thanks to palm oil production, click here. And to help ensure the survival of the species click here,