– Why India and why infrastructure?
India is the second fastest growing country in the world today, after China. What investors should know is that India’s infrastructure investment needs are in excess of USD 1 trillion over the next five years. This includes the construction of roads, airports and power infrastructure. The government is trying to increase the percentage of GDP going into infrastructure projects from six per cent to about nine per cent of GDP, to make sure that there will not be a gap that will act as a bottleneck and impact the country’s growth.
– Where does the private sector come into play?
The Indian government is very much aware that to increase India’s productivity base, the current infrastructure has to improve and that investment needs cannot be met by its funds alone. It has therefore introduced reforms to encourage the private sector to come in, construct, own and operate projects in the form of public-private partnerships. There is a very secular trend towards improving the regulatory framework to allow the private sector to invest successfully. The government’s target is for 50 per cent of the USD 1 trillion to come from the private sector.
– What information is crucial for making the right infrastructure investment decisions?
It is crucial to be able to source transactions, know which sponsors have a track record, who is reliable, has access to capital and the ability to start, complete and manage a project. That is vitally important, and is actually scarce in the market because there are hundreds of companies developing infrastructure in India.
This knowledge can only come from being in the industry for as long as we have. This gives us a very strong competitive edge, as our involvement with project financing for years means we understand contracts, cash flows and the timeliness of payments, and have a proven track record of being able to execute transactions efficiently.
About the Elite Summit 2012
This unique forum will take place at the Fairmont Le Montreux Palace, Montreux, Switzerland, 30 May – 1 June 2012. Offering much more than any conference, seminar or trade show, this exclusive meeting will bring together esteemed thought leaders in private wealth management and market leading asset and fund managers for a highly focused and interactive networking event. The Summit includes presentations on every aspect of the family office space, from the latest asset allocation trends to building comprehensive technology platforms and managing family dynamics. For more information please send an email to [email protected] or visit the event website at www.elitesummit.com/SaudSiddiqueInterview
marcus evans group – investment sector portal: http://tiny.cc/4QCf2b
