Asset-based structured finance of infrastructure projects

Abstract

Over the last decades, OECD countries have steadily reduced their level of infrastructure investment. Furthermore, the economic and financial shocks that occurred in the last decade have adversely affected many economies around the world, in terms of fiscal deterioration and public debt buildup. Under this context, governments around the world are going to invest massively in new projects to sustain economic and social development, with private capital becoming considerably relevant in complementing public investment. Therefore, governments have been resorting to various forms of asset-based structured finance solutions to finance public infrastructure projects. This paper examines how project finance, asset securitization, and structured leases can support the financing of public infrastructure projects, namely, to improve resilience and meet the Sustainable Development Goals. We provide an overview of the theoretical and empirical background of infrastructure investment as an asset class and the core financial economic foundations of asset-based structured finance. In addition, we characterize the main structured finance instruments and present the main reasons behind and limitations of their usage. Finally, we describe the recent trends in asset securitization, nonrecourse project financing (project finance and PPPs), and structured leasing markets, and examine the deals originated in the worldwide markets over the 2000-2020 period.