Global body set up to develop ‘attractive and stable’ infrastructure investment environment

The Global Infrastructure Investors Association (GIIA) already has 19 members with combined infrastructure assets worth €177 billion, according to InfraNews. The body is still in the early stages of development, but members already include Allianz Capital Partners, APG, Deutsche Asset and Wealth Management, Goldman Sachs Infrastructure Partners, Prudential and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

The GIIA has been set up to work with global governments, regulators and policymakers on influencing investment policy, according to a statement on its website. This is expected to include contributing to discussions on long-term infrastructure investment with organisations such as the OECD, G20 and World Economic Forum, and intervening in “specific cases of severe regulatory unfairness”, it said.

“In this fast-changing environment, it is vital that we create a united voice to educate our key stakeholders and build strong relationships with policymakers to ensure that the asset class remains attractive and competitive, and continues to play a leading role in meeting the infrastructure needs faced by economies across the world,” the GIIA said.

“As members of the infrastructure investment industry we have all individually faced numerous institutional challenges, many of which are difficult to solve alone. Therefore we, the founding members of [the GIIA], have come together to advance an integrated and collective approach to overcoming these hurdles, and to ensure the infrastructure asset class can continue to prosper,” it said.

The GIIA will be paid for through membership fees and intends to involve an unlimited number of members, according to InfraNews. However, it will cap the number of ‘founding’ members with a position on its management board at 25.