CONCLUSION
The 2019 Australian infrastructure Investment Report explores a changing risk environment for infrastructure investors. In some ways Australia is a victim of its own success – the market is attractive, so competition for assets has led to a shortage of investment opportunities. On other fronts, policy and regulatory uncertainty are creating unnecessary risks for existing asset owners, as well as those looking at upcoming projects and transactions. Successive government interventions, tax changes and regulatory reviews in recent years have left many investors unsure of the rules of the game, or the process by which those rules are changed. The risks for investors and the broader infrastructure sector created by this uncertainty offer little reward in exchange and serve to dampen investment into new and existing Australian assets.
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At the same time, investors are coming to terms with emerging market dynamics such as a broadening of the definition of infrastructure to include investment opportunities in core-plus assets. This trend sees investors assessing new asset types which offer higher payoffs but with greater risk and volatility. In traditional infrastructure, investors are concerned by risk allocation and capacity constraints in the delivery of projects. These challenges are symptoms of a flourishing market in which governments have successfully engaged private capital to accelerate Australia’s infrastructure pipeline, and as such, these factors will require careful management by all parts of the sector. As in previous years the Australian Infrastructure Investment Report confirms investor interest in the Australian market and offers valuable insight into how we can continue to maintain our status as one of the world’s leading infrastructure investment destinations.
Australian Infrastructure Investment Report 2019
