The stock market reaction to public bank ESG disclosure: An empirical examination across Asian economies

Abstract The study aims to examine the impact of ESG disclosures on investors' reaction, as evidenced through the stock price fluctuations. Event study method is used through t-test and calculation of CAAR, AR indexes to examine the change in investor reaction before and after the ESG disclosure date with the sample consists of 61 Asian banks in Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, India, Taiwan, and China. The study results show the impact of ESG disclosure on stock market reaction. However, most of the impacts are negative, only Taiwan market has a positive reaction after the event date. The study offers possible explanations and suggests future research focus on ESG legal frameworks tailored to individual countries.