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WASHINGTON, Oct 9 (Reuters) - The World Bank on Thursdaylaunched a new initiative that would bring together governments,development institutions and private investors to formpublic-private partnerships for infrastructure.
The initiative, known as the Global Infrastructure Facility,would structure projects to attract long-term investors such aspension funds and insurance companies in order to meet thedeveloping world's $1 trillion in infrastructure needs over thenext six years.
"We have several trillions of dollars in assets representedtoday looking for long-term, sustainable and stableinvestments," World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said. "The realchallenge is not a matter of money but a lack of bankableprojects - a sufficient supply of commercially viable andsustainable infrastructure investments."
The idea has already attracted banking groups like Citibank and HSBC and the reinsurance firm Swiss Re, as well as the Australian and Japanese governments.
The facility itself, known as GIF, would not provide directproject funding but aims to bring in investors to advisegovernments on how to structure potential projects in order toattract private capital. It would also bring together a myriadof development institutions so they do not give conflictingadvice to countries.
"There's a lot of money hidden under the mattress," JordanSchwartz, head of the GIF, told reporters ahead of the launch,adding that pensions funds in Canada and Australia, and Europeaninsurance companies were particularly interested in investing inlong-term stable projects.
"In three to five years, (my goal is that) this has becomethe standard way we design a significant portfolio of projects,"he said. (Reporting by Anna Yukhananov; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
