Finance: Asia Pacific

Developments in transport finance, PPP, debt, equity, M&A deals from Asia Pacific

• Peshawar BRT cost escalates to PKR71 billion, Pakistan [free access]

  September 7, 2019
  The Peshawar Development Authority (PDA) has announced that the cost of the Peshawar bus rapid transit (BRT) project has escalated by PKR3 billion to PKR71 billion.

• ADB to fund ITS in Gui'an New District, China

  August 23, 2019
  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved plans to provide a USD199.46 million loan for the development of an intelligent transport system (ITS) in Gui'an New District, Guizhou Province.

• Hamilton–Auckland commuter rail secures funding, New Zealand

  August 23, 2019
  The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) and local governments, including Waikato Regional, Hamilton City, and Waikato District Councils, have announced plans to provide NZD92.37 million for the development of a commuter rail connecting Hamilton and Auckland.

• Transdev Australasia to acquire bus operations in New Zealand

  August 21, 2019
  Transdev Australasia has reached an agreement with UK-based private equity firm Souter Investments to acquire Howick and Eastern Buses and Mana Coach Services, two bus operators based in New Zealand.

• Mitsui-led consortium acquires majority stake in SuperVia, Brazil

  August 16, 2019
  The consortium of Mitsui& Company Limited, West Japan Railway, andthe public–private fund Join has acquired an 88.7 per cent stake in SuperVia, a commuter rail operator in Rio de Janeiro, to improve its performance.

• Astana LRT project to be funded by loans, Kazakhstan

  August 14, 2019
  The city government of Nur-Sultan (formerly known as Astana) has announced plans to sign agreements with Kazakhstan-based banks Halyk Bank and Baiterek National Managing Holding Joint Stock Company (Baiterek NMH JSC) to provide loans worth USD600 billion for the Astana light rail transit (LRT) project.

• Queensland government to finance Gold Coast LRT Stage 3A, Australia

  August 9, 2019
  The state government of Queensland has announced plans to invest USD238 million (AUD351 million) for the development of Stage 3A of the Gold Coast light rail transit (LRT).

• Taiwan government announces subsidies for electric buses

  August 5, 2019
  Taiwan’s Ministry of Transportation and Communications has passed a guideline to provide subsidies of up to USD105,703 (TWD3.34 million) for electric buses.

• Indonesia government announces subsidies for Palembang LRT operations

  August 2, 2019
  Indonesia’s Ministry of Transportation has announced plans to allocate IDR180 billion as a subsidy for the operations of the Palembang light rail transit (LRT) system in 2020 and IDR90 billion in 2022.

• Infradev submits performance bond for Makati Intra-City Subway, Philippines [free access]

  July 31, 2019
  Philippines-based Infradev Holdings (Infradev; formerly known as IRC Properties Incorporated) has submitted a performance bond worth USD350 million to the city government of Makati to develop the Makati Intra-City Subway, the first underground rail project and the largest public-private partnership (PPP) project in the city.

• Malaysia East Coast Rail Link construction restarts; EXIM China to fund project

  July 29, 2019
  The construction of East Coast Rail Link, an upcoming rail transit project in Malaysia, has restarted.

• Kazakhstan to invest in bus fleet renewal

  July 25, 2019
  Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development’s Transport Committee has announced plans to invest KZT54 billion to purchase buses.

• Ireka, CRRC UT Europe enter into JV, Malaysia

  July 24, 2019
  Malaysia-based Ireka Corporation Berhad (Ireka) has established a joint venture (JV) company with CRRC Urban Traffic (Europe) Company Limited (CRRC UT Europe) to explore opportunities in the area of urban transport in Malaysia and in Southeast Asian markets.

• Bengaluru suburban rail alignment and cost revised, India [free access]

  July 24, 2019
  The Rail India Technical and Economic Service (RITES) has submitted the revised detailed project report (DPR) of the Bengaluru suburban rail project and has reduced the network by a distance of 12.33 km and the number of stations by 29.

• Korean EXIM Bank withdraws funding for Visakhapatnam Metro, India

  July 12, 2019
  The Export-Import Bank (EXIM) Bank of South Korea has announced plans to withdraw funding to develop a metro network in Visakhapatnam.

• ADB, Philippines sign loan for Malolos–Clark Railway project

  July 11, 2019
  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Philippines have signed a USD1.30 billion loan agreement for the Malolos–Clark Railway project.

• Funds allocated for urban rail in Budget 2019–20, India

  July 6, 2019
  The Government of India in its budget for fiscal year FY 2019–20 has allocated INR195.12 billion for the development and expansion of mass rapid transit systems (MRTS).

• ADB approves loan for Karachi BRT Red Line, Pakistan

  July 5, 2019
  The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD235 million loan to develop the 26.6-km Karachi bus rapid transit (BRT) Red Line.

• Sajha Yatayat secures funding to purchase electric buses, Nepal

  July 1, 2019
  Sajha Yatayat, a bus operator in Nepal, has secured NPR425 million funding from the provincial governments of Province 3 (NPR300 million) and the city governments of Kathmandu (NPR100 million) and Lalitpur (NPR25 million) to purchase electric buses.

• Astana LRT to be financed by bonds, Kazakhstan [free access]

  June 26, 2019
  Astana LRT LLP, the developer of the Astana light rail transit (LRT) project, has announced plans to launch bonds worth USD1.50 billion in Kazakhstan to fund the project.