Book Description

Much is expected of private financing to help meet the infrastructure requirements of the rapidly growing East Asian economies. Although private financing grew briskly during the 1990s, it represents only a small share of all infrastructure investment in the region (between 12 and 18 percent). This monograph draws on experience in a number of countries in East Asia, as well as Australia, Chile, and India, to analyze the impediments to and prospects for private financing of infrastructure. The chapters discuss the choices available to policymakers and the strategies that governments have followed. An overview chapter describes recent trends in international financing of infrastructure projects in the region, discusses the key policy and institutional impediments to greater private participation, and assesses the role of domestic capital markets and finance. It also outlines a national and regional strategy for stimulating private investment in infrastructure. The case studies from countries outside East Asia illustrate the payoffs of increased integration and concerted moves toward private provision of infrastructure.