March News, Insights & Events
The latest from GIIA and the Infrastructure Industry
Reflections on Germany’s plans to drive forward the green transition
Harvey Chandler reflects on the openness of the German economy to private investment, following a visit to the industry's annual global investment summit in Berlin.
How does the attractiveness of investment markets compare? Tell us via our Pulse Survey
How you score the world’s infra markets propels our advocacy work. Please respond by Friday 12 April to our new Pulse Survey, produced with Alvarez & Marsal.
Join us as we discuss decarbonising hard-to-abate industries on 10 April
Members of our Emerging Leaders in Infrastructure Investment (ELII) group are invited to a learning and networking event in London, hosted by Macquarie Group.
GIIA passes 100-members milestone as infrastructure asset class thrives
Augment Infrastructure and Aware Super join the world’s leading voice for infrastructure investors, building on year-on-year growth since GIIA was launched in 2016.
Claire McWatt joins GIIA as Communications Manager to further grow our voice
Our team continues to grow as Claire McWatt strengthens our Communications function, bringing Canadian, American and British experience.
Our CEO Jon Phillips looks forward in Real Asset Insight's Industry Association interview
“In this year of elections across the globe, a major consideration is the potential for changing political landscapes,” Jon tells the magazine’s readers.
From our CEO - letter from Berlin
It’s always great to be in Berlin for our industry’s largest worldwide gathering, with its breakfast-to-late night agenda of meetings, conference sessions and networking receptions. The city centre is compact and every diary appointment, event venue and hotel feel like they are within a 10 minute walk of everywhere else.
Reflecting on an extremely busy time last week, it was clear from discussions on stage and conversations in the corridors that there is a significantly more positive outlook than last year, from fundraising, M&A and greenfield perspectives. It was also clear that there is increasing confidence in many of the emerging technologies that will take us towards net zero, even if the timelines remain under considerable pressure.
Set against that optimism however, there is mounting recognition of heightened geopolitical risk surrounding the sector
This concern was reinforced in two industry reports of late, the first from Ontario Teachers Pension Plan - which found that more than two-thirds (69%) of global investors feel ‘geopolitical instability’ is of more concern than a year earlier, and the second from the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Perception Survey - which found that two thirds of respondents expect a stormy / turbulent outlook over the next 10 years.
Against this backdrop, I enjoyed the opportunity to moderate a wide-ranging conference panel on geopolitical risk. With 2024 being the year of elections in so many parts of the globe, our discussion inevitably focused on the impending contest between Trump and Biden, with most agreeing it is too tight to call but the outcome likely to be profound in terms of international relations. The extent to which the so-called Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will remain bipartisan remains to be seen, but it would require Republican control of the White House, and both Houses, to significantly derail or overturn the IIJA and IRA, and there are not many pundits predicting that scenario at the moment.
As panel members highlighted, the ongoing conflict in Ukraine continues to have profound implications on many different levels, particularly on energy security. Similarly, conflict in the Middle East has caused disruption to shipping routes with the consequential impact on delays and costs in supply chains.
Political leaders have forward sold a net zero future but in many cases neglected to set out the implications for consumers and failed to address the fundamental question of how the transition will be paid for. Increasing examples of populism and protectionism in relation to net zero related policies, together with onshoring and friend shoring, make for an ever more complex landscape for investors to navigate.
My takeaway is that our sector has the opportunity and expertise to be a big part of the solution, but investors will need an ever more sophisticated ability to understand and interpret shifting political and stakeholder landscape, and the agility to respond to new opportunities and challenges. We see our role here at GIIA as being fundamental to supporting our members in that task.
It is of course the unrivalled networking opportunity that attracts the industry to Berlin, and with thanks to hosts Allianz and sponsors Simpson Thacher and Alvarez & Marsal, the GIIA family once again gathered en masse against the glorious backdrop of the Brandenburg gate. It was great to see so many familiar faces, from those who had the foresight to create GIIA eight years ago and are still here supporting us, to the many newer faces who have since joined the community of industry leaders we have created. We took the opportunity to celebrate our milestone achievement of 100 members and raised a glass to the next 100.
Get Involved
Cocktail reception in Washington
GIIA members are requested to join us and Sullivan & Cromwell in Washington, D.C. for a networking reception with spectacular views, as we gather industry leaders during the annual Infrastructure Week.
Date: 15 May 2024 I Location: Washington, D.C.
ESG in infrastructure summit
We very warmly invite our members to attend our first full-day ESG conference, alongside our sponsors UBS and CMS, as we convene practitioners, industry experts and government bodies to address the pivotal role of ESG in infrastructure investment.
Date: 29 May 2024 I Location: London
Join us in the Houses of Parliament
GIIA members are encouraged to join us and our event sponsor Curzon at the House of Commons for our very popular, annual Parliamentary Reception for speeches and networking.
Date: 19 June 2024 I Location: House of Commons Terrace, London
Want to contribute?
We work with our members to produce a range of events, reports and insights across the year. If you would like to contribute to our planned agenda, please get in touch by emailing events@giia.net. We’d love to hear from you.
Market spotlights
US news
By David Quam, Senior US Advisor and Alessandro Pecorari, Policy & Public Affairs Manager
Following ‘Super Tuesday’ primaries, the presidential race is now a clear rematch of the 2016 election between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. A fundamental policy issue set to cut across both presidential campaigns is that of infrastructure and its importance to Americans’ livelihoods and jobs. Both candidates are touring the country, both are targeting swing states, and both are talking about infrastructure. President Biden highlighted the benefits of infrastructure grants in his State of the Union Address before Congress, bolstering this with a visit to the battleground states of Wisconsin and Michigan, whereas former President Trump was in Ohio, highlighting the need to impose tariffs on electric vehicle imports and modernise electric grid systems. One thing is for certain, unlocking infrastructure opportunities will be a key to winning those battleground states.
The Department of Transportation announced the disbursement of $57 million for Innovative Finance and Asset Concession Grants. The Innovative Finance and Asset Concession Grant Program will make $100 million available over five years to assist public entities in facilitating and evaluating public-private partnerships and exploring innovative financing and delivery opportunities for Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) eligible projects. The two grants available, Technical Assistance Grants and Expert Service Grants were discussed in depth by the Build America Bureau at two webinars for interested stakeholders in mid-March. The recordings were posted on the Build America Bureau website.
Federal announcements this month also included the Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Services (IRS). Together, they release the final rules on key provisions in the IRA to expand the reach of the clean energy tax credits for public and private entities.
UK news
By Nick Elliott, Policy & Public Affairs Manager
Anticipation is growing for an autumn election. Although significant policy development work remains, discussions with government officials reveal a notable atmosphere of uncertainty concerning the future of numerous policies currently under consideration. This underscores the critical need for our continued direct engagement with stakeholders and fostering strong relationships. Simultaneously, it's essential to sustain focus on major policy initiatives that are expected to endure past the election, regardless of the government's composition.
The Department for Energy Security & Net Zero's ongoing review of the electricity market arrangements (REMA) stands out as a key initiative where our contributions could have a significant impact. In March, the REMA consultation entered its second phase, focusing on refining the reform proposals. A crucial discussion point remains the potential implementation of locational pricing within the energy market, a topic of keen interest to our members. I urge members who wish to contribute to the development of our response to this consultation to reach out.
The Chancellor's Spring Budget has shown encouraging advancements in areas we have been championing. Notably, the allocation of over £1 billion for the upcoming AR6 contracts-for-difference (CfD) auction, including £800 million for offshore wind, marks a noteworthy advancement. Despite this progress, following the AR5's inability to secure any offshore wind bids, and with Energy UK's analysis suggesting the AR6 budget will likely yield 3-5GW of offshore wind capacity, there is still a 16GW gap to fill in AR7 to meet the government's ambitious 50GW target by 2050—a considerable challenge.
In the telecommunications sector, the aftermath of Ofcom's Equinox 2 decision last year has created a difficult landscape for alternative network providers (altnets), leading to increased consolidation as they strive to compete with the dominant Openreach. Our commitment remains steadfast in engaging with the government to ensure the regulatory environment supports the growth and competitiveness of altnets.
I look forward to seeing members at our 2024 Parliamentary Reception on 19 June, on the House of Commons’ Terrace. GIIA members are invited to register here.
EU news
By Harvey Chandler, Head of Policy & Public Affairs
A joint statement from Eurogroup ministers and a separate op-ed in the Financial Times from competition commissioner Mairead McGuinness can be seen as a move to set the agenda for the next Commission and Parliament, as well as set the tone for the Council's strategic priorities for 2024-29, expected to be published in June. With the move towards a Capital Markets Union (CMU) moving slower than many would have preferred, there's been a growing chorus of statements in recent weeks seeing its eventual conclusion as a way of opening up capital markets and driving forward infrastructure investments aligned to the European Green Deal.
Whether outcomes will match words is hard to say so close to an election, but a set of actions for institutions and supervisory bodies is certainly welcome from the Eurogroup. It's important now to understand if a consensus can hold, to provide certainty for global investors considering investments over the coming years.
Another update in March was the conclusion of negotiations around a compromise of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), which under revised proposals will now apply to certain entities with over 1000 employees and €450 million in net turnover. The European Parliament will vote on the revised text on 24 April 2024, however with the Legal Affairs Committee already passing the text through without amendment, it's likely that we'll see it passed through full plenary at the last possible opportunity in April before the elections.
As mentioned in last month's update, we are seeking contributions on the current digital infrastructure white paper consultation. If you're interested in inputting to our submission, please get in touch with hchandler@giia.net.
Membership update
We welcome two more new members to the GIIA community this month. If you know of any companies that would benefit from joining GIIA, get in touch.
News from our members
Are the takeovers of GIP and Actis a sign of things to come?
Private infrastructure has seen a meteoric rise over the past decade, but few expected the changing dynamics that are unfolding with these two major transactions.
Modernised infrastructure is key to future-proofing the portfolio
CBRE Investment Management says infrastructure and logistics are among sectors the company is eyeing to generate strong returns and address social issues.
Stonepeak looks to Asia for 'compelling tailwinds'
Stonepeak’s latest Asia fundraise will chase energy transition, logistics and transport, and digital infra opportunities, reports trade title Infrastructure Investor.
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