IJGlobal league tables – full-year 2019


A robust year was logged for global infrastructure finance in calendar year 2019, with overall transaction volume slightly down on the previous year but the strongest second half recorded for the past two.

Commercial lending took the upper hand over bonds in full-year 2019 (data subject to change as more becomes available), growing 24.9% to nearly $192.8 billion in H2 2019 compared to H1. Bond financing has grown as much as 14% to $144.3 billion over the same period.

Equity investments maintained a stable level across the board at $148.4 billion in 2019, with governments, DFIs and institutional investors committing to a vast array of corporate acquisitions, assets and portfolios developments, leading to stellar results in the oil and gas, transport and renewable energy sectors.

North America was the leading market in 2019 for infra finance, racking up more deals and greater value compared to 2018. It also proved to be the largest regional market for infra bond financing, with total value nearing $144 billion over the course of the year.

The European market continued to be vibrant for infra developments in 2019, with a total of 1,004 transactions closed amounting to $339.9 billion. Oil and gas and telecoms M&A deals led the field.

APAC’s total value and transactions grew for a second half in a row, reaching $175.2 billion generated by 418 transactions completed in 2019. Transactions in O&G and transport achieved the biggest values.

Latin America has continued on a steady course, with infra deal value increasing by nearly 6% from $93.2 billion to $99.2 billion. The region was driven by mining and O&G transactions.

MENA’s top deals were once again dominated by O&G, with exception to the role being the $4.6 billion, 1GW Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Phase IV plant in the UAE. Commercial loans were the preferred source of funding in both MENA and SSA.

As for project finance, this element logged a boost in 2019 with overall transaction value standing at $348.4 billion in H2 2019, the highest half-year result for the past two-and-a-half years, cementing the annual transactions value on levels almost identical to those in 2018.

This record comes as transaction volume remained stable in 2019 compared to the previous calendar year, suggesting that investors and lenders alike were more confident in bringing high-value projects to financial close.

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