米国：国内のインフラ整備に外資導入の波
金融危機の余波を受け、連邦政府、州政府が債券を発行して必要な資金を確保する従来の手法が難しくなっている。米国国民は、道路、橋といった公共インフラ分野への外資導入を毛嫌いしているが、インフラと雇用を維持するためには、お高くとまっていられなくなっている。
US told to seek foreign partners
By Helen Thomas and Nicole Bullock in New York
Published: July 6 2010 02:58 | Last updated: July 6 2010 02:58
US antipathy to foreign investment in its infrastructure threatens to deprive the country of much-needed capital at a time when state and local governments are struggling with rising deficits, Felix Rohatyn, the famed Lazard banker, has warned.
Mr Rohatyn, whose advice helped save New York City from bankruptcy in the 1970s, said US resistance to foreign investment in its infrastructure amounted to a "wall of fear".
"This dislike for foreign ownership is Kafka-esque; much of our country was built on foreign capital," said Mr Rohatyn. He recently returned to Lazard, which has a big infrastructure business, as a special adviser to Ken Jacobs, chief executive and chairman.
"We are almost broke wherever you turn," Mr Rohatyn said. "And yet the instinct to reject foreign capital, no matter where it comes from or what it is going to do, is to reject one of the things we are most in need of in the next 10-20 years."
Lazard said it had found voters' unease about foreign investment in US infrastructure had grown. A recent poll of likely voters taken for Lazard found that more than 80 per cent were resistant to the idea of foreign investment, up from 68 per cent two years ago. Those in favour of accepting foreign capital fell from a fifth to just 13 per cent.
Private investment in roads, bridges, parking garages and court houses is less common in the US than elsewhere. This is partly due to political opposition, but also because the $2,800bn (￡1,852bn, €2,234bn) municipal bond market has provided a cheap source of funding for state and local governments.
But as funding challenges mount, the US will need significant investment in infrastructure in the coming years. The American Society of Civil Engineers has estimated $2,200bn of investment is needed in the next five years to repair and upgrade infrastructure.
Several US cities are pressing ahead with deals to privatise their parking systems, while in Puerto Rico the government is pursuing public-private partnerships on its roads and San Juan's airport. There is about $60bn of private equity capital sitting unspent in infrastructure funds worldwide, according to data provider Preqin. There are also 116 funds currently fundraising, seeking a total of $83bn.
Such sums are tantalising for state and local governments forced to slash funds for everything from education to public safety to end several years of big budget deficits. Some, like the city of Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, are even considering bankruptcy.
"State and local governments are going to be in crisis for a number of years," said George Bilicic, head of power, energy and infrastructure at Lazard. "One way to ease that crisis will be to sell assets."
But bringing private investors into public works has been a tough sell in the US. The question for the industry now is whether struggling local finances could be the tipping point for local politicians and citizens to embrace the idea.
"Right now we are seeing the tip of the iceberg of the dire condition of state and local government finances which, up until now, has not engendered a slew of assets sales," said Dana Levenson, head of infrastructure banking, Americas, at Royal Bank of Scotland. "It depends on how much further the crisis goes."
Proponents of such deals argue that they do not just provide upfront funds, but also allow municipal governments to concentrate on core services such as police and fire rather than running parking lots or managing buildings. Critics, however, worry about the loss of long-term revenues and the prospect of higher rates for services once a private company is involved.
The history of these deals in the US is also chequered. In 2008 a $12.8bn deal to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike toll highway system to Spanish company Abertis and Citigroup's infrastructure investment group was shelved as mounting opposition from workers and politicians threatened to derail it.
A $2.5bn deal for a consortium led by Citigroup to take a 99-year lease and concession on Chicago's Midway airport fell through in April 2009 after failing to secure funding.
Meanwhile, the 2008 privatisation of Chicago's parking meters encountered operational problems. Rate rises that were agreed to in the sale, before electronic meters were installed, left drivers needing bags full of quarters and meters overstuffed with coins.
But even some of the biggest opponents are warming to the idea. One shift has been the attitude of some local trade unions towards privatisation deals. The unions favour using private capital to help generate jobs and protect pensions.
The Chicago Federation of Labor has urged the city to press ahead with a deal to privatise Midway airport, and backed a public-private partnership to build an expressway between Illinois and Indiana.
Los Angeles, Indianapolis and Hartford, Connecticut, also have privatisation processes under way. Mr Levenson estimates that there are 30-40 projects being considered in the US. "If even half of them get done, it would show that this market is getting the legs that everyone has been expecting for the last five years," he said.!
US told to seek foreign partners
By Helen Thomas and Nicole Bullock in New York
Published: July 6 2010 02:58 | Last updated: July 6 2010 02:58
US antipathy to foreign investment in its infrastructure threatens to deprive the country of much-needed capital at a time when state and local governments are struggling with rising deficits, Felix Rohatyn, the famed Lazard banker, has warned.
Mr Rohatyn, whose advice helped save New York City from bankruptcy in the 1970s, said US resistance to foreign investment in its infrastructure amounted to a "wall of fear".
"This dislike for foreign ownership is Kafka-esque; much of our country was built on foreign capital," said Mr Rohatyn. He recently returned to Lazard, which has a big infrastructure business, as a special adviser to Ken Jacobs, chief executive and chairman.
"We are almost broke wherever you turn," Mr Rohatyn said. "And yet the instinct to reject foreign capital, no matter where it comes from or what it is going to do, is to reject one of the things we are most in need of in the next 10-20 years."
Lazard said it had found voters' unease about foreign investment in US infrastructure had grown. A recent poll of likely voters taken for Lazard found that more than 80 per cent were resistant to the idea of foreign investment, up from 68 per cent two years ago. Those in favour of accepting foreign capital fell from a fifth to just 13 per cent.
Private investment in roads, bridges, parking garages and court houses is less common in the US than elsewhere. This is partly due to political opposition, but also because the $2,800bn (￡1,852bn, €2,234bn) municipal bond market has provided a cheap source of funding for state and local governments.
But as funding challenges mount, the US will need significant investment in infrastructure in the coming years. The American Society of Civil Engineers has estimated $2,200bn of investment is needed in the next five years to repair and upgrade infrastructure.
Several US cities are pressing ahead with deals to privatise their parking systems, while in Puerto Rico the government is pursuing public-private partnerships on its roads and San Juan's airport. There is about $60bn of private equity capital sitting unspent in infrastructure funds worldwide, according to data provider Preqin. There are also 116 funds currently fundraising, seeking a total of $83bn.
Such sums are tantalising for state and local governments forced to slash funds for everything from education to public safety to end several years of big budget deficits. Some, like the city of Harrisburg, the capital of Pennsylvania, are even considering bankruptcy.
"State and local governments are going to be in crisis for a number of years," said George Bilicic, head of power, energy and infrastructure at Lazard. "One way to ease that crisis will be to sell assets."
But bringing private investors into public works has been a tough sell in the US. The question for the industry now is whether struggling local finances could be the tipping point for local politicians and citizens to embrace the idea.
"Right now we are seeing the tip of the iceberg of the dire condition of state and local government finances which, up until now, has not engendered a slew of assets sales," said Dana Levenson, head of infrastructure banking, Americas, at Royal Bank of Scotland. "It depends on how much further the crisis goes."
Proponents of such deals argue that they do not just provide upfront funds, but also allow municipal governments to concentrate on core services such as police and fire rather than running parking lots or managing buildings. Critics, however, worry about the loss of long-term revenues and the prospect of higher rates for services once a private company is involved.
The history of these deals in the US is also chequered. In 2008 a $12.8bn deal to lease the Pennsylvania Turnpike toll highway system to Spanish company Abertis and Citigroup's infrastructure investment group was shelved as mounting opposition from workers and politicians threatened to derail it.
A $2.5bn deal for a consortium led by Citigroup to take a 99-year lease and concession on Chicago's Midway airport fell through in April 2009 after failing to secure funding.
Meanwhile, the 2008 privatisation of Chicago's parking meters encountered operational problems. Rate rises that were agreed to in the sale, before electronic meters were installed, left drivers needing bags full of quarters and meters overstuffed with coins.
But even some of the biggest opponents are warming to the idea. One shift has been the attitude of some local trade unions towards privatisation deals. The unions favour using private capital to help generate jobs and protect pensions.
The Chicago Federation of Labor has urged the city to press ahead with a deal to privatise Midway airport, and backed a public-private partnership to build an expressway between Illinois and Indiana.
Los Angeles, Indianapolis and Hartford, Connecticut, also have privatisation processes under way. Mr Levenson estimates that there are 30-40 projects being considered in the US. "If even half of them get done, it would show that this market is getting the legs that everyone has been expecting for the last five years," he said.!
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