Infrastructure

The Exchange: Verizon’s HR chief

31 March 2020

Christy Pambianchi oversees the well-being of more than 100,000 people. She explains how Verizon quickly rewrote the rule book to address the coronavirus outbreak from getting people set up at home to ensuring the safety of field employees providing critical infrastructure.

Turkish canal is bad way to fix infrastructure gap

31 March 2020

President Tayyip Erdogan is building a $12 bln waterway in Istanbul. The stated aim of stopping ships from crashing into the Bosphorus fails to make up for the risk of environmental catastrophe. There’s no promise of new revenues either. The only winners will be land speculators.

HS2 green light makes UK less of a runaway train

11 February 2020

Boris Johnson has approved the controversial 107 bln pound rail link. As with a recent call on Huawei, the prime minister has chosen the least-bad strategic path. That should reassure foreign investors jittery at Brexit and recent state support plans for budget airline Flybe.

Uncle Sam’s 5G telecom fantasy is M&A nightmare

7 February 2020

Attorney General William Barr thinks the U.S. could buy Nokia or Ericsson to counter China’s Huawei. But making private firms do the state’s bidding is not how America works. Wrapping suppliers in the flag would also destroy value. Selling shareholders would be the only winners.

Atlantia charts tentative path to road truce

24 January 2020

The $19 bln infrastructure group’s new boss wants outsiders to invest into its units. These include embattled motorway operator ASPI, which risks losing a rich road concession after a bridge collapse. Opening ASPI’s capital to state investors offers a way out of the crisis.

Plane woes cast doubt on Beijing’s DIY tech plan

14 January 2020

The C919, intended to compete with Airbus and Boeing commercial jets, is behind schedule and riddled with problems despite vast state support. China’s plan to replace foreign hardware and software with local versions may struggle to take off for similar reasons.

New York entertains a lesson in secession

10 January 2020

Staten Island may reanimate a 26-year-old bid to break away from the Big Apple. There are countless reasons not to, and the economic case is sketchy – but residents could back it anyway. New York’s “forgotten borough” is a fitting ambassador for a world that’s getting smaller.

Benettons play risky game of chicken in road row

10 January 2020

Motorway operator Atlantia, part-owned by the Italian dynasty, is haggling with the government over toll fees following a 2018 bridge collapse. Betting that the fragile executive won’t cancel its concession could backfire. Besides, the $20 bln group can afford Rome’s demands.

Infrastructure investors catch the tech bug

9 January 2020

Macquarie may be in talks to buy AirTrunk for over $2 bln. It follows a record year for data centre M&A which saw volumes triple. Growing consumption of the new oil is fuelling demands for storage warehouses. And the hunger for yield is building up towering multiples.

India’s big build hinges on credibility revamp

7 January 2020

New Delhi wants the private sector to fund one fifth of a $1.4 trln infrastructure plan over five years. Much of the country’s bad debt, however, has come from previous projects. Investors will want evidence politicians are offering manageable risks before they sign up again.

Hadas: Election shunts UK towards state splurge

13 November 2019

Both leading political parties are promising to borrow and spend more. That makes sense, even without Brexit. The UK has a bad case of the developed-world disease: slowing growth despite ultra-loose monetary policy. As in other countries, fiscal support is rightly gaining fans.

Ethiopia’s state telco has more than rarity value

16 October 2019

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is ending Ethio Telecom’s monopoly. A private partner will have to fund new kit, while new rival providers will squeeze super-fat margins. With 100 mln potential customers and perhaps a $5 bln valuation, it’s a big test for Ethiopian reforms.

China has a template to remake its Belt and Road

25 July 2019

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has financed over $8 bln of projects while promoting high standards and responsible lending. It’s a sharp contrast to the amorphous, opaque Belt and Road. Officials looking to retool that initiative should learn from their own successes.

China’s hardline premier set peak for gigantomania

24 July 2019

Former premier Li Peng died on Monday. Infamous for crushing protesters in 1989, he was also known for championing the giant, controversial Three Gorges Dam. China still likes mega-projects, but officials can’t flout financial and environmental concerns so easily these days.

Grand bargain can end Italian toll-road standoff

4 July 2019

The government in Rome reckons it can pull a lucrative motorway licence from Atlantia without paying compensation after last year’s fatal bridge collapse. The $21 billion infrastructure group would respond with a lengthy lawsuit. A better option for both sides is to reduce tolls.

DP World nets decent deal due to tricky IPO waters

1 July 2019

The $13 bln Dubai-listed port operator bought energy shipping company Topaz for $1 bln including debt. The buyer has avoided overpaying by sticking to its guns on the price. And Renaissance Services, the majority owner of the target, avoids a risky shot at a public listing.

Washington could set the pace for Chinese property

27 June 2019

Home prices are notching up annual increases of nearly 11%, in spite of restrictions and a cooling economy. Real estate, which drives as much as a fifth of GDP, is one of Beijing’s most powerful levers to crank up growth. The trade war will determine how forcefully it is used.

China infrastructure bump comes at steeper cost

18 June 2019

Beijing is tweaking rules to allow local authorities to step up spending on public projects, which might add 4 percentage points to infrastructure growth this year. Rule changes should let officials borrow more, but they will face a harder time generating returns.

Pulled IPO sets grim tone for Hong Kong markets

13 June 2019

Warehouse operator ESR shelved plans for a $1.2 bln float, a day after police and demonstrators clashed violently in the Asian financial centre. A high price was one issue, but unrest plus economic headwinds formed a perfect storm. It’s a bad sign for others in the queue.

Water can flow around U.S. infrastructure blockage

24 May 2019

The $1 trln needed to fix the nation’s aging pipes and other H2O infrastructure isn’t coming any time soon – as a new delay to a U.S. funding plan makes clear. The industry still has room for improvement, though, starting with better use of technology, data and capital.