Infrastructure opens up to private buyers

Article Excerpt

Infrastructure assets such as toll roads, airports or port facilities have long been available only to large institutional investors or private equity funds. However, with a global focus on the development of infrastructure and a shortage of government funding, more of these unique investments have become available in the form of publicly listed stocks. This adds to the already available pool of utility and energy infrastructure stocks. A global need for more and more infrastructure Infrastructure assets refer to facilities and systems that serve a city, region or country. These assets are normally critical capital projects that move people, energy, goods and so on. These facilities typically earn fees for their use through contracts and concessions. Some examples of traditional infrastructure projects are bridges, tunnels, toll roads, airports, pipelines and electric, gas or water and sewage utilities. Newer types of infrastructure assets include privatized hospitals, wireless towers and data centres. An estimated $9.5 trillion was spent around the world on various forms of…