January news, insights & events

Our progress and achievements - GIIA’s highlights of 2023

Find out more about our growth and how we've increased our membership, delivered impacts across core markets, and extended the ‘G’ in GIIA.

GIIA and Realfin produce new report on ESG considerations

In collaboration with Realfin, we have developed a new resource for the infrastructure investment landscape, covering Q3 of 2023 - the first of a planned series.

Members welcome to join us in Berlin on 20 March

We'll be hosting a drinks reception with our sponsors Allianz, Alvarez & Marsal and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett as part of the Infrastructure Investor Global Summit.

GIIA website wins global Web Excellence Award

Our award for Best Association Website is cited by judges as a 'remarkable' achievement, among more than 900 entries across 21 countries at this year's awards.

UK regulators urged to foster long-term investment, says GIIA

We highlight the need for new, economic duties that require regulators to allow for the long-term infrastructure investment that the UK desperately needs.

GIIA is finalist for 'Sector Representation' award

Our entry for the Trade Association Forum awards focuses on our work to rebuild the UK's appeal to investors through influencing government and policy makers.

From our CEO

Well, 2024 has certainly got off to a flying start for the GIIA team.

Not only have we welcomed new recruit, Alessandro Pecorari, as our new Policy & Public Affairs Manager - part of Alessandro's responsibilities will be to work closely with our US senior adviser, David Quam - but we have also added five new member companies to the GIIA network already this month, moving us ever closer to our 100 member milestone.

For those that were unable to join our All Member Call on 16 January, you should have received a slide deck via email with a summary of our plans and priorities for the year. Smarter regulation in the UK is high on that list, and Nick Elliott has been busy pulling together our submission to the UK government's consultation. As we have noted on several occasions now, 2024 is a big year for elections and therefore politics and policy in all our core markets. We will be monitoring developments and bringing insights to our members throughout the year.

Harvey Chandler and Nick Elliott were in Brussels last week to pick up on conversations with Transport and Energy officials. I look forward to my first US trip of the year in February to attend the National Governors Association winter meeting in Washington DC, which will also provide the opportunity to catch up with our US working group in person. And then it’s off to Dubai where I will chair a panel discussion on ‘Emerging opportunities for investors in the energy transition’ alongside a number of GIIA members at the Global Infrastructure Initiative Summit. To round off Q1, the GIIA team will be in Berlin for the Infrastructure Investor Global Summit and, more importantly, the GIIA member reception at the Allianz Forum. I hope to see you at one or more these events.

Get Involved

Accelerating future-ready infrastructure

McKinsey are our partners in gathering industry leaders at the Global infrastructure Initiative Summit in Dubai, to resolve how to build for the future, better and faster 

Date: 27 - 29 February 2024 I Location: Dubai

UK and EU offshore wind

We're partnering with City & Financial Global in London as we gather infrastructure experts to discuss the fast-paced growth and advancement in the offshore wind energy market within the UK and Europe

Date: 5 March 2024 I Location: London

ESG in infrastructure summit

GIIA members are invited to join us in London, 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 at our first full-day ESG event

Date: 29 May 2024 I Location: London

Join us at the House of Commons

GIIA members are welcomed to join us and our event sponsor Curzon at the House of Commons for our annual Parliamentary Reception for speeches and networking

Date: 19 June 2024 I Location: House of Commons, 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 / Alessandro Pecorari, Policy & Public Affairs Manager

The U.S. presidential field has narrowed considerably following the Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire Presidential Primary during January. Donald Trump's victory in both contests has knocked several contenders out of the race, leaving only former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley to challenge for the nomination. Trump’s decisive wins suggest that the Presidential contest will soon be a two-person race between President Biden and Trump, with a near year-long general election campaign season that will slow any legislative action by Congress. Look for President Biden to make infrastructure a core part of his re-election message as he touts the passage of the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act, and their impact on communities.  

Congress averted a shutdown in January when it voted to approve a short-term spending bill to keep the government running until March. The agreement was opposed by conservative Republicans in the House, who are calling for more draconian cuts in spending and more aggressive action to address the influx of migrants illegally crossing the border from Mexico. The deal underscores the difficulty the new Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, will have in managing his Republican majority.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, otherwise known as the IIJA, once again made headlines in early January when the U.S. Department of Transportation announced the release of $623 million in grants to help build out an electric vehicle (EV) charging network across the U.S. The grants will fund 47 EV charging and alternative-fuelling infrastructure projects in 22 states and Puerto Rico, including construction of approximately 7,500 EV charging ports. This forms part of the Biden Administration’s goal of having an affordable, reliable and domestically produced national network of EV chargers, including at least 500,000 publicly available chargers by 2030.

UK news

By Nick Elliott, Policy & Public Affairs Manager

As January draws to a close, we reflect on a busy month centred around reshaping the UK's regulatory landscape. We have submitted GIIA responses to two Department for Business & Trade (DBT) "Smarter Regulation" consultations. We’ve emphasised the importance of introducing economic duties that compel regulators to promote long-term investment in the country's essential infrastructure. Additionally, we've submitted a response to the Cabinet Office's Call for Evidence on the National Security & Investment Act (NSI). Our goal is to encourage improvements that ease the administrative burden on international investors deploying capital in the UK. Our commitment to engaging with the government and shaping effective regulatory frameworks for sustainable, long-term investment remains steadfast. Thank you to the many members who contributed to this process.

As part of our ongoing engagement with the Labour Party leading up to a general election later this year, we've begun to feed our views into Labour’s British Infrastructure Council. Our objective is to provide a clear and unified voice representing the interests of the infrastructure investment community. Looking ahead, we plan to deepen our advocacy through practical means such as roundtables and providing written contributions to influence Labour’s broader policy agenda. An opportunity we're focusing on right now is Labour’s infrastructure Call for Evidence, which will feed into Darren Jones' wide-ranging review of major infrastructure projects in the UK. While many are talking about the February deadline for influencing Labour’s manifesto pledges, we believe there's significant potential to actively shape their infrastructure and investment policy agenda throughout the coming year. Members’ involvement in this process will be invaluable as we ensure the views of investors are heard.

Looking ahead to our broader government engagement, we will be collaborating with the Treasury in the lead-up to the Chancellor's Spring Budget. Our purpose is to influence budget announcements that will positively impact the investment landscape. We are also awaiting the release of a long-awaited consultation as part of the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero's Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA). We will be formulating a comprehensive response.

We are engaging our contacts at the Department of Business & Trade to develop a series of roundtables on key policy topics that we want to explore this year. Given the certainty of an election within 12 months, our primary focus is on amplifying our voice across government to ensure our perspectives resonate and carry into the next administration. Your continued support and engagement will be invaluable.

For further discussions on our policy positions, please contact me at nelliott@giia.net.

EU news

By Harvey Chandler, Head of Policy & Public Affairs

With ‘beEU’ signs marking the start in January of the Belgian presidency across Brussels, anyone looking at the increasing shift to more eurosceptic parties in the polls for June’s European Parliament elections may be forgiven for wondering whether the play on words is intended to act as a rally call to voters. MEPs have certainly wasted no time in pushing the presidency to act swiftly in delivering the parliament’s priorities ahead of the election, including promoting offshore renewable energy production, preparing an EU “Blue Deal”, reinforcing grids and prioritising domestic hydrogen production.

The Commission meanwhile will move ahead with setting out proposals for a new 2040 climate target early in February. Expectations are that a 90% cut in GHG emissions will be put forward, up from the 55% target for 2023 that has driven the EU's Fitfor55 packageFitfor55 package, which is aimed at meeting that goal. Whilst the target is positive news for investors seeking to expand their portfolios in assets connected to Europe's decarbonisation agenda, some uncertainty exists around whether it will be endorsed by all 27 member states and how climate goals will factor in after June's elections. Expect lots of discussion on this through 2024.

Last December's provisional agreement to revise the EU's trans-european network for transport (TEN-T) has led to increasing interest in perspectives on the role private capital can play in its delivery. With mandatory requirements set to come into effect once adopted, such as for major airports to be connected to the TEN-T rail network by 2040, questions abound on how greenfield projects can attract finance. If you're interested in contributing to our ongoing discussions with the Commission and EIB on this issue, please contact hchandler@giia.net.

Member updates

We are very pleased to be continuing our impressive rate of growth, and are delighted to welcome five new members to the GIIA community this month, as we strive for the milestone of 100 members in 2024.

If you know of any companies that would benefit in joining GIIA's membership, do get in touch.

News from our members

BlackRock acquires Global Infrastructure Partners to create multi-asset investment platform

The transaction sees combined AUM of more than $150 billion across equity, debt and solutions and strengthens deal flow and co-investment opportunities.

Infracapital successfully closes largest ever co-investment process into Zenobē

The strategic collaboration with KKR will help to propel Zenobe's growth in the UK's electric vehicles and grid-scale battery storage sectors.

European Infrastructure Fund reaches €8 billion of investor commitments

Macquarie's fund sees more than 100 investment custodians contribute to the industry’s largest-ever fund focused on European infrastructure

For press enquiries or to feature in our next email newsletter or website guest post, email press@giia.net.