One rating standard, licensed market by market.
A SYNE rating carries the same weight everywhere because it's backed by direct regulatory recognition in the market it's used - not a single blanket claim of global compliance. Here's where we're licensed, where we operate, and why that structure matters.
Recognised directly by seven leading authorities.
We're regulated by leading authorities across our core markets, not just aligned with their standards on paper.
FSA
Financial Services Agency recognition for ESG and sustainability disclosure work in the Japanese market.
SEBI
Securities and Exchange Board of India recognition for ESG ratings serving Indian capital markets.
MAS
Monetary Authority of Singapore alignment for ESG and sustainability rating activity.
FCA
Financial Conduct Authority recognition covering UK-based rating and assurance work.
ESMA
European Securities and Markets Authority alignment across the EU's sustainable finance framework.
ASIC
Australian Securities and Investments Commission recognition for ESG and sustainability rating activity.
SFC
Securities and Futures Commission recognition for ESG ratings in Hong Kong's capital markets.
Licensed markets and operational presence.
Licensing isn't a single global passport - each jurisdiction has its own regulator, application process and disclosure rules. In newer regions we operate directly with clients while formal recognition is completed market by market.
Europe
28 markets - all 27 European Union member states plus the United Kingdom, covered under the EU's ESMA sustainable finance framework and the UK's FCA recognition.
Middle East & Africa
26 markets - all six GCC states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE) plus 20 Francophone African markets, licensed market by market.
Asia Pacific
15 markets - Australia, New Zealand, Japan, India and Hong Kong, plus all 10 ASEAN member states, including direct regulatory recognition from Japan's FSA, India's SEBI, Singapore's MAS, Australia's ASIC and Hong Kong's SFC.
North America
2 markets - Canada and the United States, under direct local registration with the relevant securities regulator.
All 71 licensed markets, by region.
Europe (28)
Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
Middle East & Africa (26)
Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon, Guinea, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Togo
Asia Pacific (15)
Australia, New Zealand, Japan, India, Hong Kong, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam
North America (2)
Canada, United States
No two licenses are identical. Each of these 71 markets is licensed under its own applicable regulatory route rather than a single blanket registration - we don't treat any one approval as a substitute for the rest. See the SYNE World Index for our full 249-country coverage, licensed and index-only alike.
What licensing changes for each customer.
Regulatory recognition isn't a badge - it changes what each of our customer segments can actually do with a SYNE rating.
Investors
A licensed rating has been checked against a regulator's own conduct and methodology standards - not just our word for it - which lowers due-diligence risk when allocating capital across borders.
Regulators
Local licensing gives regulators direct oversight and recourse over how ratings are produced in their own market, rather than importing an unaccountable foreign score.
Corporates & issuers
A rating recognised by the regulator in your home market carries weight with local investors and lenders, not only international ones.
Banks & exchanges
Licensing lets banks and exchanges build SYNE ratings into regulated products - listings, indices, lending criteria - without extra compliance overhead.
Why we license market by market, the hard way.
A single global registration would be faster and cheaper. We don't take that route, for three reasons.
Comparability compounds
Every new license forces our methodology to hold up against a different regulatory philosophy, not just our own assumptions - which is what makes an ESG rating in Tokyo comparable to one in London.
Trust compounds
Each direct regulatory recognition is independent evidence that the methodology holds up - trust built market by market doesn't evaporate if any single relationship changes.
Data compounds
Each new market adds to the dataset behind the SYNE Index, making every existing rating more comparable - not less - as coverage grows.
Check whether your market is covered.
Talk to our team about licensing status in your jurisdiction, or what it takes to bring SYNE Ratings to a new one.