June 2010 Issue


    Month: June
    Year: 2010

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    The Infrastructure Investor 30 methodology

    The creation of consistent rules for a compelling, apples-to-apples ranking of the largest investors in the asset class caused us to reach further and dig deeper than any other ranking of infrastructure investors ever before.

    The story behind the numbers

    Within this year’s Infrastructure Investor 30 rankings are embedded a number of stories that speak volumes about the characteristics of infrastructure investment today. Cezary Podkul takes a look at some of the key takeaways.

    The Infrastructure Investor 30: 2010

    We are pleased to bring you the inaugural Infrastructure Investor 30 - a compelling, apples-to-apples ranking of the largest investors in the asset class. It caused us to reach further and dig deeper than any other ranking of infrastructure investors before.

    Building Hadrian’s Wall

    Chief executive Marc Bajer tells how his new business plans to bring the capital markets back into infrastructure financing.

    A test of endurance

    A troubled parent group, nervous investors, volatile market conditions…in all, a set of circumstances that ensured Simon Gray and colleagues would face the challenge of a lifetime before eventually breaking away from Babcock & Brown to form independent fund manager Arcus Infrastructure Partners last year. In conversation with Andy Thomson, Gray reflects on turbulent times and opportunities ahead

    Political uncertainty – and what to do about it

    The World Bank Group’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency mitigates political risk with the aim of encouraging infrastructure investment for those who need it most. Edith Quintrell explains how it works

    Hedging against the hothouse

    If infrastructure investors are not factoring climate change into their business plans, they should be. In a groundbreaking article, Richard Little explores the threats from evolving weather patterns and suggests ways of countering them

    What keeps investors awake at night

    Which are the risks occupying the minds of infrastructure investors today? Based on the evidence of recent developments, Bruno Alves and Andy Thomson identify the top five

    Watch out for the axe

    With the UK’s new coalition government needing to cut spending in order to reduce a huge public deficit, will infrastructure projects be in the firing line? Frank Prenesti canvasses opinion

    Mapping ownership

    UK watchdog OFT is launching the first ever ‘stock take’ on the nation’s infrastructure

    Minimising maximisation

    The implosion of New York’s State Asset Maximisation Board suggests the PPP market is unlikely to grow as a result of commission reports and executive orders. By Cezary Podkul

    Battle for the Presidio

    A public relations campaign by an engineers’ union almost killed California’s first PPP. But in Illinois, strong support for the state’s ‘Illiana’ PPP shows unions needn’t always be feared as the enemy of private investment in infrastructure. Cezary Podkul reports

    Doubling up

    PGGM has doubled its infrastructure team to focus on direct investments. Henk Huizing, head of infrastructure investments at the Dutch pension asset manager, tells Bruno Alves why

    Most-read news stories from InfrastructureInvestor.com over the past month:

    Most-read news stories from InfrastructureInvestor.com over the past month: 2010-05-26 Staff Writer 1. Actis, Tata launch Indian infrastructure joint venture The private equity firm and Indian conglomerate have invested a combined $200 million in a joint

    Don’t blame the model

    State procurement authorities are frequently being advised that they need to remove traffic risk from toll road projects through availability payments on the assumption that the business model is broken. This may be a costly and unnecessary mistake

    The EU’s road to hell

    The crafters of the AIFM have good intentions, but they must be shown that key proposals of this directive benefit no one and may create a Kafkaesque business environment, writes David Snow

    Troubled times

    While Portugal has pushed back most of its big infrastructure projects, Greece will test the appetite of jittery investors in September, when it tenders a €1bn airport in Crete

    Why the numbers didn’t add up

    Toll road traffic forecasts have sometimes proved shockingly wide of the mark. One man has identified 21 reasons for this

    Er, could you run that by me again?

    Infrastructure appears to play a vital role in American military planning, though it’s far from clear

    Time for a u-turn?

    The UK’s first governing coalition in 70 years might have one of its first disagreements over how to monetise the country’s road network