June 2013 Issue

    O PIP, where art thou?

    Confusion continues to be the hallmark of the UK's £2bn Pensions Infrastructure Platform

    Outsourcing, over-payment and a court verdict

    Our readers tell the PIP it should outsource its management, argue that investors are paying too much for UK water assets, and condemned Henderson in the court of public opinion

    ‘Urbanisation will create substantial demand’

    Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (the Caisse) is one of the most influential investors in infrastructure. Here, the Caisse’s Chantalle Pelletier gives her take on attractive strategies and what the future holds

    The importance of the multiplier effect

    Infrastructure investment should be used to boost the Eurozone’s GDP and reduce the region’s public debt burden, write Sylvain Broyer and Johannes Gareis of Natixis

    Regulated destruction

    Spain’s patchy power market regulation has left it with a €25bn electricity tariff deficit and a costly renewables subsidy scheme, writes Bruno Alves

    ‘I think it got overblown’

    Allen & Overy partner Kent Rowey explains why the three-year-old Volcker rule has had a muted impact on captive infrastructure funds

    A giant awakes

    Investments in infrastructure are becoming increasingly attractive for the German institutional investor community. Matthias Reicherter and Fabian Pötter of Golding Capital Partners explain why

    Das Yield

    Germany has saved €10bn over the last two years as sovereign bond yields plunged to 1.18%. In the process, it’s created a yield drought that is steering the country’s institutional investors to infrastructure. The prize: an extra €35bn for the asset class, writes Bruno Alves

    The ‘re-invented project finance guy’

    That’s how Highstar Capital’s Christopher Lee sees himself – and other infrastructure fund pioneers. In a meeting with Andy Thomson at the firm’s Park Avenue offices, Lee reflects on his tie-up with AIG, the characteristics that mark out a Highstar investment, and why politicians need to get their act together

    Heading off the rails

    The risk inherent in the California High-Speed Rail project is emblematic of a larger problem: the unfeasible nature of HSR in America. Chris Glynn reports

    Risky business

    With institutional investor interest in infrastructure at an all-time high, Bruno Alves takes a look at some of the dangers the asset class presents

    Public service gift, social infra goal

    AECOM executive Samara Barend is aiming to win Washington over to her vision for social infrastructure. Chris Glynn reports

    Bullish about the US

    In the first of a regular series, we get the lowdown on the ambitions and challenges facing the developer community. Below, Mike Marasco, chief executive of Toronto-based Plenary Concessions, explains why the US offers growth beyond Canada and Australia

    Life in the slow lane

    Piles of government debt and asphyxiating austerity are slowly squeezing the life out of infrastructure activity in the region, a new report finds. Kalliope Gourntis reports

    The public works project from hell

    An SEC fraud charge, associated with its cash-draining incinerator, represents a new low for Harrisburg

    Changing tides

    The returns profile of the UK water sector appears to be undergoing a significant shift. Bruno Alves examines the evidence

    Getting better, but no miracle cure

    The UK’s new PFI model contains some neat innovations, but may still struggle to live up to its billing

    Stern words from the Treasury

    How a representative of the asset class got into trouble

    A platform for comedy

    HS2 has been accused of many things – associating it with slapstick is a new line of attack

    Time to spare

    It comes as no great surprise to learn that Peter Hofbauer is a golf fan and, as we speak, is tempted by the May sunshine to contemplate the prospect of a leisurely stroll around some fairways over the approaching weekend. After all, golf is both relaxing and intense at the same time – a pleasant […]