This paper highlights the suitability of multilateral development banks (MDBs) for infrastructure financing, to provide the long-term financing needed for infrastructure investment to become profitable, given the large scale of the initial investment and the long amortization time. This paper outlibes giw MDBs can offer finance at a relatively low cost due to their high credit ratings. Thus, they can borrow relatively cheaper on the international capital markets and pass on that cost advantage to their borrowers. However, the authors note that MDBs face some restrictions in their ability to provide support to infrastructure, but nonetheless have numerous advantages in terms of financial terms, information, and ability to cope with risk, all of which can play a significant catalytic role. The paper is divided into the followig sub-sections: i) Loans (long tenors and big tickets) and Equity, ii) Technical Assistance, iii) New Partners, iv) Unfunded Instruments and v) Proved and Tested Instruments vs. New Instruments. And in conclusion, the authors present key findings from this study.
This paper is part of the working paper series "Infrastructure Finance in the Developing World" and is a joint research effort by GGGI and the G-24, exploring the challenges and opportunities for scaling up infrastructure finance in emerging markets and developing countries.