A panel discussion at the Unlocking Investment Through PPP International Summit, taking place in Nicosia, looked at how public-private partnerships (PPPs) can contribute to attracting foreign investments and in turn economic growth, with experts tackling the entire spectrum, from financing to how artificial intelligence (AI) can make PPPs more efficient.
The panel, entitled “Why is FDI Important for Economic Development and How can PPPs Contribute to it?”, was joined by Edward Farquharson, Senior Adviser, European Investment Bank (EIB), Thibaut Mourgues, Managing Partner, Camden Advisory, Co-Founder, Head of Editorial Board, Head of AI & Technology chapter, World Association of PPP Units & Professionals (WAPPP), and Emmanuel Noutary, General Manager, ANIMA. It was moderated by José Henrique Vieira Martins, Chief Expert, World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA)
Starting off the discussion, Martins asked the EIB’s Edward Farquharson how PPPs can contribute to foreign direct investment (FDI). He responded: “Foreign direct investments is a very interesting and significant consequence of PPPs. But we mustn’t lose sight of why we are doing PPPs.” The aim, he said, is not just to attract FDI, but to build a sustainable and future proof ecosystem.
PPPs also attract a significant amount of debt, he pointed out. “But because PPPs are long-term partnerships by nature, it contributes another important value aspect of FDI, and that is it is long term. It is going to hang around for at least the concession time, 20-30 years. So, PPPs not only increase FDI, but also the quality of the FDI.”
And the EIB is here to provide support, Farquharson added: “We’re back financing projects. We’ve allocated over €55 billion towards supporting PPP across Europe.”
It is also providing advice to public promoting PPP projects: “We used InvestEU funding to pay for external consultants and specialists that we contract and make available to public authorities to help develop projects.”
ANIMA’s Emmanuel Noutary was asked what the benefits are of establishing PPPs.
“Since Covid, we have a momentum where the public sector is in a good position to negotiate with investors. Public support saved the economy where possible, so I think it’s a good momentum to have between investors and the government,” he said, adding: “These relationships can contribute to improving the country’s image and attractiveness.”
As he said, the whole ecosystem is part of the negotiation with the investor. “The challenge to make the investor happy, is to coordinate this dialogue, organise it for the investor,” Noutary explained. “Look at what competitors are doing and try to imitate or be better than the neighbours.”
Thibaut Mourgues talked about how AI can expedite PPPs. He said AI can help in a multitude of ways with data analysis of market indicators, or even in areas such as assessing the stakeholders’ feelings, or how the population reacts to a project
It can also help with a project’s feasibility study. “You shouldn’t compromise on the quality of the study, and AI can play a major role here as well. Such as risk analysis, AI has the capacity to analyse millions of data in a very short amount of time.”
The Summit has been organised by Invest Cyprus, the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) and World Association of PPP Units & PPP Professionals (WAPPP).
EY Cyprus is Gold Sponsor, Hermes Airports is Silver Sponsor, and the European Investment Bank is the Knowledge Sponsor.
It is being coordinated by IMH and is taking place under the auspices of the Republic of Cyprus.
