Topic: Mapping & Profiling The New Players in Emerging Markets Infrastructure

Date: April 27 - 28, 2007

Location: Stanford University

Background & Motivation: In the 1990's infrastructure privatization was common across developed countries, but it failed in a number of emerging markets. In our first and second Roundtables we examined the reasons and studied the renegotiations and ensuing workouts and concluded that a number of underlying problems exist that are difficult to fix with respect to the privatization of emerging markets infrastructure. Now, as the world's capital markets readjust, new sources of funds and new possibilities for emerging markets infrastructure have come to the fore.

For example: (1) the rise of new investors from China, India, the Middle East, Malaysia, (2) the rise of private infrastructure funds in the developed world, and (3) the rise of national players such as the national oil companies. Overall, the competitive landscape is being significantly revamped and traditional multilateral institutions are becoming increasingly marginalized.

Objective: Our goal is to map out and profile the new players who are financing the emerging markets infrastructure.

Research Questions: Who are these new players? Can we map them? Can we profile them? How do they think about risk? Are they somehow better equipped than their rich-world competitors to cope with the problems that plagued private infrastructure in the emerging markets in the 1990s ? How do they set-up their contracts? Are they able to better understand and navigate the inherent political risks in the emerging markets because they, too, share a background in the developing world? Do they attract the same level of opposition from Western NGOs? Or are they more immune to such opposition? Do they respect Western standards for the protection of human rights and environment (i.e. waterways, endangered species, etc)? Or do they bring their own unique standards? May it be that, in some cases, they receive government subsidies to expand abroad?

Roundtable Participants: Participation in the Roundtable is by invitation only. Invitations will go out to selected individuals who are locally-attuned, regionally-connected and who represent the major emerging markets regions of the world (Russia, Eastern Europe, China, India, Central Asia, Latin America, etc). For example, senior executives from some of the 'new players' such as ICICI in India, CITIC in China, and DHC in UAE; regional analysts from the rating agencies, such as Moodys, S&P, and Fitch; regional heads of the project finance/ infrastructure finance from within the multilateral banks; as well as prominent individuals from across a range of financial guarantors, bilateral lenders, contractors, and project sponsors.

Call for Nominations: If you know of someone who you think could make a valuable contribution to this Roundtable, please let us know. Send your nomination to rjorr@stanford.edu

Posted by rjorr at April 27, 2007 11:44 AM