8:00am

Breakfast and Registration

9:00am

Welcome and Introduction

Jamil Anderlini, Asia Editor, Financial Times

9:05am

Opening Remarks

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic & Social Policies, Government of Singapore

9:10am

Keynote Interview

Joaquim Levy, Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, World Bank Group

Interviewed by: Jamil Anderlini, Asia Editor, Financial Times

9:40am

Keynote Address

Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Minister of Finance, Government of Indonesia

10:00am

Panel of Policy and Investment Leaders: Mobilising Capital for Infrastructure amid Monetary, Fiscal and Market Uncertainty

Global markets are experiencing extreme volatility as investors and policy-makers respond to sluggish growth and persistent deflation in many economies, compounded by the impact of China’s transition to a more consumer-focused economy, the end of the commodity super-cycle, falling world trade, and the UK’s decision to leave the EU. The Federal Reserve is cautiously tightening monetary policy while many other central banks have been cutting interest rates -- in the case of Japan and the ECB to negative levels, and in the case of China, accompanied by a devaluation of the renminbi. On the fiscal side, slower growth and the sharp drop in revenue from oil and other commodities have hit some emerging economies hard, leading to much tighter government spending, including on infrastructure projects.

• How will trends in monetary and fiscal policy evolve and how will they affect the capital available for infrastructure?
• To what extent do they open up new opportunities for private investors?
• What is being done to increase the pipeline of viable projects in Asia, improve governance and transparency, and generally make infrastructure more attractive to investors?
• How reliant will countries in Asia be on the funds to be released by China, Japan and multilaterals such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)?
• How will this funding be structured, absorbed and applied?

Leaders from government, development banks and multilateral institutions share their views.

Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Minister of Finance, Government of Indonesia
Joaquim Levy, Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, World Bank Group
Alan Bollard, Executive Director, APEC Secretariat
Leslie Maasdorp, Chief Financial Officer, New Development Bank
Tadashi Maeda, CEO and Executive Managing Director, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC)

Moderator: Jamil Anderlini, Asia Editor, Financial Times

11:00am

Networking Break

11:20am

Panel Discussion: Innovation and Disruption – the Future of Infrastructure in the New Global Economy

As developed and emerging markets wrestle with deflation and an overall drop in output and trade, attention is turning to the long-term impact of the new digital economy on labour, supply chains and commercial flows. This new wave of innovation and disruption is also overturning traditional approaches to infrastructure service delivery. Automation, big data, mobility and disruptive market and business processes are radically reshaping planning and financing. The cost-effectiveness of renewable energy solutions, for instance, has substantially increased; water treatment and distribution have become much more efficient; and the use of consumer-produced data is revolutionising traffic forecasting and the planning of roads and tolls.

This session will explore the latest disruptive technologies and trends, and how they will shape the future of infrastructure, looking at the impact on planners, developers and financiers.

Tanya Denning, Partner, Ashurst
Ross Israel, Head of Global Infrastructure, QIC
Mukund Sridhar, Partner, McKinsey & Company

Jeevan Vasagar, Singapore Correspondent, Financial Times

12:00pm

Introduction: Scaling Up Private Investment as Risk Approaches Evolve

Karin Finkelston, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)

12:15pm

Panel Discussion: Scaling Up Private Investment as Risk Approaches Evolve

The persistent economic uncertainty and market volatility, combined with the impact of technological innovation and disruption on infrastructure development, have added a new dimension to the decision-making of institutional investors, private equity firms and investment funds. Overall, the need for stable long-term returns has made infrastructure an attractive asset class, particularly given the low-interest environment. However yields are falling due to the increased participation of large asset owners and the lack of viable initiatives that can absorb their capital, forcing many investors to accept more risk in search for better returns. On the flip side, the deepening of innovation around infrastructure planning and development is changing the way investors evaluate cost and long-term returns.

• Where are the most attractive long-term opportunities in Asia, and what are the most effective structures to access them?
• What are the key project, financial and political risks going forward and how should they be managed?
• What can the public sector do to help address these challenges?
• How are investors reacting to heightened currency volatility?
• What impact will the capital injections from China, Japan and the AIIB have on project values?
• To what extent has infrastructure funding in Asia been affected by the pullback of sovereign wealth funds hit by the oil price fall?
• How are calculations on yield and risk being affected by digital disruption?

Andrew Claerhout, Senior Vice President, Infrastructure & Natural Resources, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan
Mark Delaney, Deputy CEO and Chief Investment Officer, AustralianSuper
Terry Fanous, Managing Director, Public, Project & Infrastructure Finance,Moody's Investors Service
Rajeev Kannan, Head of Investment Banking Asia, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
Kim Suyi, Head of Asia, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Moderator: Henny Sender, Chief Correspondent, International Finance,Financial Times

1:15pm

Lunch

2:15pm

Panel Discussion: Infrastructure and the Development of Climate Finance

The commitments made by policy-makers at the climate change conference in Paris – including a renewed push for clean energy solutions -- have transformed the outlook for the energy sector, with significant implications for infrastructure development and financing. The 70 per cent fall in oil prices since 2014 has already resulted in the cancellation or deferral of over $400 trillion worth of new projects. The economics and efficiencies of alternatives have meanwhile improved. The challenge is now to ensure that renewable energy attracts sufficient funding to have a transformative impact on the global energy mix.

• What are the most effective structures to finance renewable energy infrastructure?
• What is the outlook for the development of green bonds, and other innovations in climate finance?
• How is the regulatory environment adjusting to this new environment?
• Will the increased pressure on large asset owners to divest from fossil fuels and adopt a more sustainability-focused approach significantly increase long-term investment in clean energy infrastructure?
• In terms of the execution of renewables projects in emerging markets, what are the main risks and uncertainties for investors and developers?

Anita George, Managing Director, South Asia, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ)
Geert Peeters, Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer, CLP Holdings
Paul Rhodes, Managing Director, Financing Group, Goldman Sachs
Ray Tay, Vice President - Senior Analyst, Project and Infrastructure Finance Group, Moody's Investors Service

Moderator: John Roome, Senior Director, Climate Change, World Bank Group

3:00pm

Project Showcase: Myingyan Power Plant, Myanmar

The 225-MW gas-fired power plant in the central Myanmar district of Mingyan, to be built at a cost of US$300 million, will be the largest gas-fired independent power plant in the country. It is also the first major infrastructure project outside of the telecoms sector to have been financed in Myanmar. In this exclusive case study, the major stakeholders in the project share their insights on the key drivers of the initiative, the contractual and financing structures, risk management and mitigation, and how the Myingyan plant could be used as a template for other power projects in the country.

Michael Barrow, Director General, Private Sector Operations, Asian Development Bank
Jae Hyung Kwon, Head of North Asia, Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA)
Low Kian Min, Senior Vice President, Group Business Development & Commercial, Sembcorp Industries
Marat Zapparov, Director, Infrastructure, Clifford Capital

3:45pm

Panel Discussion: Investing in Connectivity – The Role of the Private Sector

Cross-border infrastructure projects enhance regional economic development by stimulating flows of goods, services, investment, people and technology. However, the emergence of several Asia-focused mega-regional infrastructure initiatives supported by different institutions has raised questions about potential overlap and competition. At the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in February, participants agreed to launch a Global Infrastructure Connectivity Alliance initiative to enhance cooperation and synergies around cross-border infrastructure programmes.

• Is it possible to build a coherent architecture of mega-regional infrastructure initiatives? How will these programmes be managed?
• Given that most of these initiatives are dominated by the public sector, what role can the private sector play?
• What are the regulatory challenges?
• How will the connectivity agenda sit alongside separate measures to facilitate trade and logistics, such as the Trans Pacific Partnership?
• How will this major push evolve over the next few years as the G20 presidency moves from China to Germany to India?

Jennifer Blanke, Chief Economist, World Economic Forum
Matthew Bubb, Partner, Global Head of Utilities, Ashurst
Najeeb Haider, Principal Strategy Officer, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
Carsten Hess, Vice President and Head of Corporate Public Policy, Asia Pacific & EEMEA, Deutsche Post DHL Group

Moderator: Jordan Schwartz, Director, Infrastructure & Urban Development Hub, World Bank Group 

4:30pm

Panel Discussion: China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the Opportunities for International Investors and Developers

Chinese policy-makers, developers and businesses have already started raising significant funds for projects linked to the Belt and Road initiative – a planned network of road, rail and sea routes linking China with Europe, and one of the mega-regional infrastructure initiatives that could be enhanced by the G20 connectivity alliance. China cannot implement this alone.

• How can international, non-Chinese investors and infrastructure developers tap the opportunities to be opened up by this massive initiative?
• How can specialists in the local markets (where the projects are being built) share their expertise and understanding of local conditions, regulators and ways of doing business?
• What are the most effective ways to partner with these local players to optimise impact?
• What regulatory guidelines and standards need to be harmonised? With markets in all the target countries set to be tapped for funds, what will be the impact on local bond markets, and the implications for the role of the renminbi as a reference currency for offshore debt financing?

Jean-Francois Beaudoin, Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific, Alstom
Paul Gruenwald, Chief Economist, Asia Pacific, S&P Global Ratings
William Powell, CEO, Brookfield Asia Pacific
Chin Hwee Tan, CEO Asia Pacific, Trafigura Group

Moderator: Henny Sender, Chief Correspondent, International Finance,Financial Times

5:20pm

Closing Remarks

5:30pm

Cocktail Reception