Risks and the financing of PPP: Perspectives from the financiers

Public private partnerships (PPP) are an established model for most governments internationally to provide infrastructure-based services, using private finance. Typically the public authority will sign a contract with a special purpose vehicle (SPV), which, because of the holistic nature of PPP, in turn sub-contracts the finance, design, construction, maintenance and soft services to companies that are often related to its shareholders. Thus there is a considerable network of linked organisations that together procure and provide the PPP project.While there is an increasing body of research that examines these PPP projects, much of it is interview or case study based so that the evidence is drawn from a small number of interviews or cases in specific sectors. It also focuses on the public sector procurer and the private sector contractor in the network of organisations. Although it has been recognised that the perceptions of the financiers may vary from those of other key PPP players there is much less research that focuses on the financiers.In this paper we report the results of a postal questionnaire survey, administered to 109 providers of senior debt and equity, from which the response rate was just less than 40%. We supplement these findings with a small number of illustrative quotes from interviewees, where the cited quote represents a commonly held view. We used SPSS and Nvivo to analyse the data.The findings show that when assessing PPPs financiers perceive a very wide range of risks as important, and that it is important to them that many of these risks are either insured or allocated to sub-contractors. When considering participating in PPPs, financiers agree that working with familiar partners on familiar projects and in familiar sectors is important, which may raise barriers to entry and undermine competitive processes.     

上市公司过度股权融资：经验证据与理论解释

一直以来，对中国上市公司存在过厦股权融资现象的判断很大程度上是基于感性认识，经验分析和理论解释并不多见。本文在对研究文献进行简要回顾的基础上，对过度股权融资进行了合理界定，对中国上市公司过度股权融资现象及其程度进行了实证考察，并通过建立中国上市公司控股股东的融资决策模型，对上市公司过度股权融资现象进行了理论解释，据此分析了导致过度股权融资的影响因素和内在作用机理，并提出了相关政策建议。     

The actual evaluation of school PFI bids for value for money in the UK public sector

Much of the literature on value for money (VFM) evaluation of private finance initiative (PFI) contracts has concentrated on the financial methodology of constructing the public sector comparator (PSC) and its limitations. In contrast, this paper focuses on examining how ‘PFI bids’ are actually evaluated for VFM in the case of three secondary school PFI contracts. It is a unique study which presents the Northern Ireland school PFI decision-making processes, within the broader UK context. It is based on the full business cases of three PFI schools and interviews with key actors involved in the PFI processes. This study shows that the methodology used to evaluate and benchmark the design, facilities management, financial and contractual aspects of PFI bids for VFM is subjective and problematic-changes in the assumptions used may easily shift the balance in favour of conventional procurement and/or competing private sector service providers. It further highlights the importance of risk transfer; how non-financial factors are taken into consideration; and the public sector's reliance on consulting firms and ‘accounting measures’ in the PFI decision-making processes.     

NHS CAPITAL INVESTMENT AND PFI: FROM CENTRAL RESPONSIBILITY TO LOCAL AFFORDABILITY

At its inception, the NHS was structured as a public corporation, which owned its hospitals. Sixty years on, hospitals are business units or Trusts, which are responsible for capital investment in a local region. The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) has become the predominant mode of financing new hospitals. This paper's purpose is to review the impact of PFI. A literature review traces the various stages of the NHS' hospital investment programme and the research method is a case study. The findings show that PFI is leading to additional costs and complexity that make the achievement of the NHS's objectives difficult.     

The Future of Private Equity

After a period of robust growth, the private equity industry has experienced a marked decline. In the wake of the 2008 economic crisis, the future of the venture and buyout industries seems unclear. This speech discusses four possible scenarios for the future of the private equity industry by examining the short‐ and long‐run determinants of private equity supply and demand. Possible scenarios include Recovery, Back to the Future, The Limited Partners' Desertion, and A Broken Industry. Although support is given for each of the scenarios, a clear prediction for the future remains difficult. The future of the private equity market is likely to be the subject of debate for some time to come.     

The Private Finance Initiative: risk, uncertainty and the state

This paper analyses the UK's Private Finance Initiative (PFI) at a conceptual level by focusing on the management of risk, which is central to the justification for the policy and its application across the public services, and uncertainty, which underlies the role of the state. The paper argues that the rhetorical support for PFI rests on a conflation of risk and uncertainty and that PFI leads to contractual arrangements that are inappropriate for the provision of public services over the medium term.     

The impact of quantitative easing (QE) on the cost of debt in project finance investments

Recession-driven low inflation and high spreads have increased the cost of debt in public sector project finance investments, therefore reducing private sector profits and bankability. This paper investigates the impact of quantitative easing by central banks, showing that it can stimulate economic growth producing shared public and private benefits.     

Public Versus Private: The Empty Definitions of National Accounting

The policy-making processes and the policies of the two international systems of national accounts are addressed, from the perspective of the accounting discipline. The particular measurement issue that determines which parts of an economy are public and which are private - the reporting entity - is discussed. The main conclusion is that the definition of the reporting entities is so vague as to be empty; in other words, national accounting's definition of what is public and what is private is empty.     

民间金融风险的测度与预警研究——以温州为例

近年来,国内陆续出现企业家"跑路"现象,最终演变成民间借贷风波等一系列经济社会问题,暴露出民间金融暗藏着巨大金融风险。当前,国内专门研究民间金融风险测度与预警的文献还较少,本文旨在弥补这一不足。文章运用向量自回归模型(VAR)分析,探索对民间金融风险的测度与预警体系的建立,为防范和化解区域民间金融风险提供决策参考。     

和谐财政理论:评述与研究

和谐财政是我国生产建设财政退出历史舞台、公共财政框架尚未完善之间的一个过渡性财政运行模式,是中国所独有的一种财政模式,其发展方向是公共财政,其运行的基础是我国经济社会发展处于关键但社会矛盾比较严重的现实,时间可能不会太长,但具有特别重要的意义。和谐财政要体现三大基本内容:一是财政与经济运行之间的和谐,体现帕累托最优原则;二是财政与社会公平之间的和谐,确保和谐社会的建立;三是经济与社会之间的和谐,确保再生产环节的有效衔接。     

经济转轨时期民间金融发展问题研究

近年来,民间金融已成为我国金融体系中不可或缺的组成部分。在我国经济转轨时期,扩张的民间金融与正规金融形成了互补效应,在一定程度上缓解了民营中小企业融资难的局面,对促进经济与金融的发展,发挥着积极的作用。但是,民间金融的合法化发展存在一些制约因素。必须摒弃与市场经济体制相悖的、束缚民间金融发展的理念、制度和规则,通过一定的政策措施,鼓励引导民间金融健康发展。     

中国财政改革与经济增长实践

基于内生增长理论分析改革开放后历次财政变革与经济增长关系,并利用协整与回归分析检验该关系.结果表明:中国财政与经济增长具有长期稳定关系;前期财政变革强调财政激励效应,为中国市场经济奠定了制度基础;后期财政变革强调稳态增长效应,这使中央财政需有稳定财源,以保证其外部性生产要素充分供给;相比于地方财政的收敛增长效应,中央财政体现出稳态增长效应.     

Occupation,driving experience,and risk and accident perception

The contemporary understanding of public sector risk management entails a broadening of the traditional bureaucratic approach to risk beyond the boundaries of purely financial risks. However, evidence suggests that in reality public sector risk management does not always match the rhetoric. This paper focuses on the apparent inadequacy of any risk framework in the current Prudential Borrowing Framework (PBF) guidance in relation to that which was developed under Public Private Partnerships and Private Finance Initiative (PFI). Our analysis shows that the PBF and its associated indicators for local authorities adopt a narrow financial approach and fail to account for the full range of potential risks associated with capital projects. The PBF does not provide a framework for local authorities to consider long‐term risk and fails to encourage understanding of the generic nature of risk. The introduction of the PBF appears to represent a retrograde step from PPP/PFI as regards risk and risk management.     

The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh: a case study on the workings of the Private Finance Initiative

Non-elected faith representatives are increasingly involved in public policy decisionmaking. Yet, little is understood about who they represent and on what basis. Drawing on political theory and primary research data, this article examines what, in democratic terms, is going on when a faith leader sits on a local strategic partnership, a service advisory body, or a neighbourhood board. It shows that, despite very real limitations, faith representatives complement traditional electoral representation by bringing new and ‘authentic’ voices and expertise. ‘Representative claims’ are legitimized in part through faith leaders' involvement in dense (and often marginalized) community networks, but also through their very ‘untaintedness’ in relation to traditional electoral processes.     

国内商业银行个人金融产品若干问题研究

近年来,个人金融业务逐渐成为国内商业银行经营的业务亮点,呈现出快速发展势头.国内个人客户日益多样化的金融需求给商业银行的个人金融产品经营提出了更高的标准.但国内商业银行个人金融产品还存在诸如金融产品与个人客户需求之间存在差距、为中高端客户提供的个人金融产品仍待丰富、部分个人金融产品的经营效益需进一步提高、个人金融产品创新研发体系及科技系统还不健全等问题.国内商业银行应抓住宝贵的商机,对自己的个人金融产品加以完善和创新,为客户提供差别化个性化服务,更好地满足个人客户多元化的金融需求,提高个人金融产品的市场竞争力.     

我国国家审计对公共财政的建设性作用

我国财政正面临由建设型财政向公共型财政的转型。国家审计作为国家财政的监督者,要在构建公共财政中发挥建设性作用,必须及时调整审计策略,针对公共财政面临的主要问题,明确审计发挥建设性作用的内容,主动实现审计转型与财政转型和政府转型相互协调、相互促进,达到促进建立和完善我国社会主义公共财政的目的。     

金融机构互联网金融发展研究

本文通过对互联网金融的发展历程的介绍,分析互联网金融发展的五大内生因素,对互联网金融的主要产品进行了归纳和总结,在此基础上提出金融机构如何有效应对互联网金融的冲击,并在这一轮互联网金融热中占领高地,突破传统业务的束缚,拓展盈利空间,实现线上线下的交互式可持续发展。     

The Changing Nature of Contracting and Trust in Public‐Private Partnerships: The Case of Victorian PPP Prisons

This paper examines shifting constructions of contracting and trust that are manifest between pre‐2000 and post‐2000 public‐private partnerships (PPPs) providing prison facilities and/or services in the Australian State of Victoria. As such, this paper is significant because it outlines longitudinal insights into the nature of changing practices sustaining these PPPs. The post‐2000 period examined reflects a change of government and the policy context. Our examination is based on a range of primary and secondary documents. The primary documents comprise three pre‐2000 Prison Services Agreements and two post‐2000 Facilities Services Agreements. A number of government and other reports constitute the secondary documents consulted. While there are many substantive similarities between the contracts, we find five main areas of changed contracting practices over the period examined. These relate to: first, the objectives of the PPP prisons; second, risk management practices; third, the approach to performance measurement and reporting; fourth, the structuring of incentive and payment mechanisms; and fifth, the emphasis on collaboration. Overall, we find that the post‐2000 contracts promote a more overt development of goodwill trust and relational contracting, building on presumptions of contractual and competence forms of trust. However, quite different outcomes have been achieved from particular contractual contexts. Our study suggests that in complex PPP contracts, the influences of both the transacting parties and the transaction environment have been insufficiently recognized in the literature on PPPs.     

The Performance of Long-run Stock Returns Following Issues of Public and Private Debt

This study uses a balance sheet-based method to identify both public and private debt issues. This feature is important because there have been no studies of the information content of private debt issues, while private debt is substantially more prevalent than public debt. We find no abnormal returns following straight debt issues. However, convertible debt issuers under-perform the market on the order of 50 to 70 percent in the following five years. In pursuit of explanations, we find that convertible debt issues signal a deterioration of future profitability, which accounts for at least part of the stock price underperformance.     

政策性金融几个基本问题的探讨

我国政策性银行自1994年成立 ,距今已有7年的历史了。七年来 ,它在调整生产力结构、优化资源配置、弥补市场经济缺陷、促进经济协调运行等方面发挥了不可磨灭的作用 ,基本上达到了设立的目的。在新的历史条件下 ,如何对政策性银行进行改革 ,完善其运行机制 ,以便更有效地发挥作用是急需研究的问题。本文通过对我国政策性银行产生的理论基础和经济基础的研究以及已有功能的评价 ,根据实践中它出现的问题 ,寻找有效的措施来完善它 ,以使其今后能发挥更大的作用。