Crowding in Domestic Investors into Financing Sustainable Development

This event, being held on Monday, October 7, 2019, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. CEST at the Palais des Nations in Room XII, will be devoted to the issue of how to "crowd in" domestic investors to finance sustainable infrastructure.

It is a part of Building Bridges Week, a collaborative endeavour among multiple organizations from the private and public sectors, as well as academia and non-governmental organizations. Building Bridges is taking place in Geneva, Switzerland, at various sites throughout the city.

Domestic investors play a crucial role in financing sustainable development. All countries have pools of institutional capital, including pension funds, provident funds, insurance companies and state-owned corporations. With careful design, these pools of capital can be tapped for financing projects that can help achieve sustainable development objectives. 

Domestic investors are patient financiers who have long-term and highly vested interests in their countries’ needs. They are familiar with governance and political risks and understand domestic market dynamics. They will also invest in local currencies, which eliminates the need for expensive hedging solutions. Most importantly, working with domestic investors provides the impetus for deepening domestic financial markets and improving the investment environment for foreign investors. Many foreign investors are also likely to be more comfortable investing alongside their domestic counterparts. 

The event will examine the necessary conditions to crowd in domestic investors to finance sustainable infrastructure. We will also discuss IISD’s ongoing study on how leaders in Malaysia successfully crowded in large pools of domestic capital for financing public infrastructure.

Speakers include:

• Charulata Singal, United Nations Capital Development Fund, Investment Specialist
• Jos Verbeek, World Bank Group, Manager and Special Representative to the UN and WTO
• Oshani Perera, IISD, Director, Sustainable Infrastructure (moderator)

Registration is required and can be done through the following link.