IE Singapore's Strategy To Build Singapore's Infrastructure Hub Sees Traction

Transcription

1. MEDIA RELEASE IE Singapore ’s strategy to build Singapore’s infrastructure hub sees traction Project discussions worth over S$6 billion facilitated through IE Singapore’s roundtable series MR No.: 050/16 Singapore, Tuesday, 18 October 2016 1. With Asia requiring $20 trillion of infrastructure investments from 2016 – 2030 1 , demand for infrastructure know how is at an all-time high. Today, Singapore is Asia’s infrastructure hub, integrating expertise in project development, structuring and financing. International Enterprise (IE) Singapore, the government agency partnering Singapore companies in going global, is leading the charge in supporting Singapore companies to win international infrastructure projects. 2. IE Singapore has launched several initiatives, including the Asia-Singapore Infrastructure Roundtable (ASIR) series to catalyse projects for local companies, build talent for the industry and anchor the Project Finance International2 (PFI) Asia Best Practice citations in Singapore to share best practices across infrastructure projects in Asia. 3. Mr Kow Juan Tiang, Group Director, Environment & Infrastructure Solutions Group, IE Singapore, said, “Singapore’s strong financial and legal frameworks acts a strong base for partnering governments, developers, financial investors and multilateral development agencies to structure and operationalise infrastructure plans across Asia. We have seen an increase in project access for Singapore companies and are looking at developing talent as demand in the sector grows.” McKinsey’s report on Bridging Global Infrastructure Gaps PFI, under Thomson Reuters, is the leading source of global project and infrastructure finance news, data and tools. 1 2 IE Singapore is the government agency promoting international trade and partnering Singapore companies in going global.
2. IE Singapore Media Release 18 October 2016 Creating market and project access 4 . In 2013, IE Singapore launched the ASIR series to foster infrastructure project collaboration between stakeholders. Over the last five runs, ASIR brought together over 1,000 industry practitioners including financiers, asset owners and developers, catalysing infrastructure project discussions worth over S$6 billion, with S$800 million worth of projects secured by Singapore companies in China, South Asia and Southeast Asia spanning power, smart cities, transport and utilities. 5. The series brought Asian projects to Singapore companies, increasing interaction between key stakeholders and decision makers. i) For example, today’s seminar on India’s Smart Cities Mission3 highlighted Indian cities, Chennai and Pune seeking smart city solutions from Singapore companies. Pune Municipal Commissioner Kunal Kumar was present to give insights into the city’s plans and explore joint collaborations. ii) Sri Lanka officials meanwhile surfaced the proposed Multi Modal Transport Hub (MMTH) project, a connectivity backbone of a planned Megapolis within the country’s Western region as an opportunity for Singapore companies. This follows IE Singapore’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed with the Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development in July 2016. Developing talent for infrastructure 6. The growing need for infrastructure in the region has led to an increasing demand for talent. IE Singapore partnered various institutes of higher learning (IHLs), multilateral banks and private sector to support the needs of this growth sector: i) Young Talent Programme – Infrastructure Development Scholarship offers students career opportunities in the infrastructure sector. Singapore companies such as DBS and Hyflux have offered scholarships to students. ii) Infrastructure Development Internship (IDI) programme with local universities give students a first-hand experience in developing, structuring, financing of infrastructure projects in Asia through interning at companies across the infrastructure sector. The fifteen participating companies, including developers, engineering firms, banks and infrastructure funds, have placed and trained over thirty students in the last three years. 3 The Smart Cities Mission is an urban renewal programme launched by the Indian government in 2015 that envisions the development of 100 smart cities by 2020, focusing on themes such as transport, utilities, ICT and urban development. Page 2 of 10
3. IE Singapore Media Release 18 October 2016 iii ) Master of Science (MSc) in Project Management with a specialisation in project finance at National University of Singapore (NUS) was created to develop professionals with cross-disciplinary skills required for the infrastructure sector, while combining relevant infrastructure modules across various faculties including business, civil engineering, finance and law. Fifty-five students have been trained to date. Singapore increasingly recognised as thought leader in infrastructure 7. As part of our initiatives to drive development, structuring, financing and execution of Asian infrastructure projects in and through Singapore, IE Singapore partnered the Project Finance International (PFI) to launch the region’s inaugural PFI Asia Best Practice citations in Singapore in 2014. These citations recognise successful delivery of major infrastructure projects in Asia and enable sharing of best practices from infrastructure projects. Such events in Singapore reinforce Singapore’s thought leader position to conduct project development in Asia. 8. The third edition of PFI Best Asia Infrastructure Projects dinner, where citations are presented, takes place this evening. This year’s citations introduced a new ‘local advisory’ category, emphasising the importance of good advisory in creating successful projects. DBS is this year’s winner, recognised for its work with Sport Singapore in the refinancing of the loan for Sports Hub, Asia’s largest sports public– private partnership (PPP) project. Seven other firms, all with a presence in Singapore, will be recognised at tonight’s citations ceremony. (Refer to Annex 2 for full list of citations) Annex 1: Opening address by Mr Lee Ark Boon at 6th Asia-Singapore Infrastructure Roundtable Annex 2: List of PFI Asia Best Infrastructure Projects citations Get story leads from IE Singapore’s Twitter (@IESingapore) and Facebook (IESingapore) accounts. --End-- Page 3 of 10
4. IE Singapore Media Release 18 October 2016 Note to Editor Please use ‘IE Singapore’ if an acronym for ‘International Enterprise Singapore’ is required. Unless otherwise stated, the use of statistics cited in our media releases, website or Statlink, should be attributed to IE Singapore. For media enquiries and/or event photos, please contact: Ms Foo Xiao Xuan Manager, Media Corporate Communications Group DID : (+65) 6433 4400 Email : foo_xiao_xuan@iesingapore.gov.sg About International Enterprise Singapore IE Singapore is the government agency promoting international trade and partnering Singapore companies in going global. Our vision is a thriving business hub in Singapore with Globally Competitive Companies and leading international traders. IE Singapore attracts global commodities traders to establish their global or Asian home base in Singapore. Today, Singapore is a thriving trading hub with a complete ecosystem for the energy, agri-commodities and metals & minerals trading clusters. Through our Global Company Partnership and Market Readiness Assistance, we also work with Singapore-based companies in their various stages of growth towards being globally competitive. Our global network of overseas centres in over 35 locations provides the necessary connections in many developed and emerging markets. Visit www.iesingapore.com for more information. Page 4 of 10
5. IE Singapore Media Release 18 October 2016 Annex 1 Opening Remarks by Mr Lee Ark Boon Chief Executive Officer , International Enterprise (IE) Singapore Asia-Singapore Infrastructure Roundtable Westin Hotel, Singapore 18 October 2016 Ms Sim Ann, Senior Minister of State for Culture, Community and Youth & Trade and Industry, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, 1. Good afternoon, and welcome to International Enterprise (IE) Singapore’s AsiaSingapore Infrastructure Roundtable. 2. Amidst ongoing global economic uncertainties, infrastructure remains an area of growth and opportunity, with Asia leading the charge. 3. As such, Singapore is committed to serving as the pre-eminent Asian infrastructure hub where all the players throughout the value-chain are gathered together, to originate, structure and syndicate projects for the region. 4. This is an important role for Singapore because infrastructure projects are not just economically complex, but the social and political subtleties require a good understanding of cultural norms. As an infrastructure hub, Singapore thus plays a useful role in bringing together the necessary talent and organisations who can originate, structure, syndicate and execute projects for the region. Enabling Market Access 5. IE Singapore’s Asia-Singapore Infrastructure Roundtable is an initiative to enable market access. We started this in 2013, and today we are into the 6th run. It has grown and evolved into one of the leading platforms to foster collaboration among stakeholders for infrastructure projects in Asia. Page 5 of 10
6. IE Singapore Media Release 18 October 2016 6 . Including today, this Infrastructure Roundtable Series has attracted over 1,000 industry practitioners. More than $6 billion worth of projects have been catalysed on this platform, with our companies subsequently securing over $800 million worth of projects across Asia. 7. Later this afternoon, we will get to hear from the experts and practitioners, but to address the regional infrastructure gap, it is key to establish good partnerships. And IE Singapore is taking the lead to do this. 8. This year, IE has already organised two procurement workshops with the World Bank to enable our companies to better understand the World Bank’s procurement processes and to participate in tenders. 9. In previous runs of this roundtable, we also partnered with different countries such as the U.S. State Department, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), and China Enterprise Association. 10. This year, it is our pleasure to partner with Austrade. Together, we will learn from each other and share experiences in executing infrastructure projects in the region. Building Capabilities 11. As Singapore continues to grow as the region’s infrastructure hub, we recognise the need to nurture a strong pool of talent for this industry. Over the past three years, we have built up a pipeline of undergraduates with specialised infrastructure skills gained through scholarships and internships with companies such as Clifford Capital, DBS, Hyflux and Sembcorp. 12. The National University of Singapore (NUS) has also launched the Master of Science (MSc) in Project Management with a specialisation in project finance, supported by IE Singapore. These skills development initiatives enable students to build proficiency in infrastructure and contribute to the sector. Creating Thought Leadership 13. We have also crowded in many infrastructure conferences in Singapore. IE supports multiple events such as the Asia Pacific Energy and Infrastructure Finance Forum organised by Euromoney earlier this year, as well as the Infrastructure Partnership and Financing in One Belt, One Road Forum organised by ICBC last month. These events Page 6 of 10
7. IE Singapore Media Release 18 October 2016 are thought leadership platforms , and gathering points to bring the industry closer together. 14. PFI, a leading infrastructure industry publication also holds the Asian edition of their annual Awards in Singapore yearly. Conclusion 15. In conclusion, we seek your continued support for our roundtable series and infrastructure initiatives. Let us all participate actively in the discussion and have a fruitful roundtable. Thank you. Page 7 of 10
8. IE Singapore Media Release 18 October 2016 Annex 2 List of PFI Asia Best Infrastructure Projects citations Government advisory – KPMG KPMG has been involved in a range of infrastructure deals in Singapore. The latest is the development of the sixth incineration plant or waste to energy (WtE) facility, the first such PPP project in the country and the largest in Southeast Asia. The financing for the project, awarded to Hyflux and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, achieved financial close in May this year with lenders DBS, Maybank, Mizuho and BTMU. KPMG, together with Parson Brinckerhoff and Herbert Smith Freehills, was engaged by the National Environment Agency (NEA) in early 2014 to assist it in the preparation of bid documents and the selection of a concessionaire. NEA acts both as regulator and offtaker. The project is expected to augment the city state’s energy capacity and reduce waste at a rate of around 3,600 tonnes per day. KPMG is currently adviser to PUB, Singapore’s national water body, in the procurement of the 30mgpd Marina East desalination plant (MEDP), the country’s fourth desalination plant. It is working with Black & Veatch and Squire Patton Boggs, the technical and legal advisers respectively. Debt capital markets advisory – HSBC HSBC was the principal adviser and joint lead manager on the largest sukuk issue in 2015, the largest greenfield project bond in the power sector and the largest independent power project (IPP) in Asia-Pacific in 2015. The deal was the US$2.12bn Jimah East project financing in Malaysia for Tenaga Nasional and Mitsui. Prior to working on the bond, HSBC advised Tenaga on buying a 70% stake in the project and ensuring the scheme had a competitive tariff and good project economics. The sukuk issue set a new benchmark for a domestically rated Malaysian deal with a 23year tenor. Despite concerns over foreign exchange movements in late 2015, the financing featured limited support for foreign exchange exposure. This allowed investors to get comfortable with the transaction, while limiting the exposure of the sponsors. Page 8 of 10
9. IE Singapore Media Release 18 October 2016 Financial advisory – SMBC SMBC advised on one of the landmark deals to reach financial close in Asia this year – the US$4.3bn Central Java coal-fired power project for the Bhimasena Power Indonesia (BPI) project company. The financing heralds the start of a new era of Indonesian power project financings. Land acquisition issues, outside the control of the adviser, delayed the deal for a long time. But an issue introduced late in the day did have important financial consequences, a rupiah payment requirement for transactions made in the country. It was agreed that PLN will make its payments to BPI in rupiah but PLN has an undertaking to meet any shortfall that may be the result of the currency exchange from rupiah to US dollars. BPI is made up of JPower, Adaro and Itochu. SMBC put together a 20-year financing from JBIC and commercial banks from Japan and Singapore. Financial advisory - MUFG MUFG advised on one of the stand-out infrastructure deals in Asia-Pacific this year – the US$600m scheme to build a light-rail system in Canberra, Australia. The financing included a number of innovations to match the profile of the deal. The client, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), is taking out half of the project debt on completion of construction. There was a desire to manage interest rate risk efficiently on the ACT contribution but without ACT assuming a floating interest rate profile after the initial debt term, as is the case on most Australian PPPs. An interest rate cap solution was adopted to provide certainty. In addition a deferred maturity equity bridge facility (EBF) was put in place to bridge the equity proportion of the ACT contribution. The project sponsors on the deal are Pacific Partnerships, John Holland, Mitsubishi and Aberdeen. Local financial advisory – DBS DBS Bank, the largest bank in Singapore and Southeast Asia by assets, has successfully expanded its role into advisory services, winning a number of mandates. It is the financial adviser to the sponsors of Kalimantan Selatan (Kalsel) power plant in Indonesia. With the issue on rupiah payment being settled soon, the signing of the debt facility is expected to be concluded shortly. Kalsel’s sponsors are Adaro Energy and Korea East West Power. The Singapore bank is currently advising one of the bidders to the Java 1 IPP in Indonesia. Bids are due to be submitted in August, the latest deadline announced. The bank also advises governments. Recently concluded is a financial advisory role to concessionaire authority Sport Singapore (SportSG) in the refinancing of the loan of Sportshub, Asia’s largest sports PPP project. DBS was selected by SportSG to ensure that the Singapore government was able to leverage on improved market conditions. This resulted in the removal of the refinancing guarantee provided by the Singapore’s ministry of finance, securing a full 20-year term refinancing to reduce refinancing risk and also obtaining the realisation of refinancing gains for the authority. Page 9 of 10
10. IE Singapore Media Release 18 October 2016 Legal advisory – Milbank Tweed Milbank Tweed advised the lenders on a truly mega-scale project finance late last year. The deal, like others in the project finance sector, was delayed for some time as the Rio Tinto-led sponsor group and the host government debated the details. But in the end the deal got over the line. The project is the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia. The deal is the largest emerging market mining project financing to-date, the largest Central Asian project financing to-date and the largest project in Mongolian history. The deal has a complex mix of financing tranches that needed to be married together and kept whole during the delays. Export credit agencies on the deal include EDC of Canada, EFIC of Australia and US Exim. Multilaterals include MIGA, ERBD, IFC and FMO, and there are a host of commercial banks. Milbank has long experience in managing complex project financings. Legal advisory - Shearman & Sterling Shearman & Sterling advised the Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC) on its landmark US$1.4bn infrastructure deal in the Philippines, the Light Rail Transit 1 Cavite Extension project (LRT 1). The financing marks one of the largest infrastructure project financings in the country to-date at a time when all eyes are on this growing market. The deal, which was financed by local banks, had plenty of challenges including taking over the existing ageing network, challenging economics, exposure to fare revenues and rights of way issues. Notwithstanding the issues, the deal represents the first fully non-recourse PPP deal in the country. The financing was split between two tranches to reflect the repair of the existing railway and rights of way approval timings. The concession termination regime was improved to aid the deal. The sponsors are Metro Pacific, Ayala Corporation and Macquarie. Technical advisory – Black & Veatch Black & Veatch advised on one of the more technically interesting power projects in the region to have recently been successfully completed. More to the point, however, is the fact the scheme is strategically important with former Philippine president Benigno Aquino III leading the opening ceremony in January. The scheme is Abolitiz Power’s 300MW circulating fluidised-bed baseload coal-fired plant in Mindanao, Therma South. The scheme was financed by local banks led by BDO. The plant features the Philippines’ first coal dome, an enclosed but well-ventilated facility to minimize surface area on which coal dust can settle while providing safe storage for the plant’s fuel supply. The technically challenging scheme has come on line as Mindanao suffers from power supply problems brought about by El Nino. Black & Veatch was the overall project and commissioning manager for the plant. Page 10 of 10