normally involve larger investments and for a longer period than many other types of investments. they also involve complicated land acquisition, environmental, labour and other social issues that require strong support or facilitation by the host government in their resolution. however, infrastructure investments, if properly designed and run, can bring about steady and long - term cash flow and good return to the invested capital. moreover, the space of infrastructure in the developed world is getting increasingly crowded, with yields or returns steadily declining as there is an abundance of capital chasing after limited opportunities. in contrast, there is enormous headroom and potential for infrastructure investments in the emes. the crucial issue is how to channel the capital to the investments or turn more projects into “ bankable ” or “ investible ” projects. 7. in this context, banks and multilateral development institutions play a crucial part. they have the necessary technical expertise in the relevant fields and the requisite local knowledge to underwrite greenfield projects. this is a riskier phase of an infrastructure investment but banks are good at doing this. however, the new capital standards for banks do not make it attractive for them to hold on to these loans on a long term basis, even though the projects at the brownfield stage are operating smoothly. at the same time, there are many other investors, including insurance and pension funds, which may be looking for less risky investments that can produce steady long - term cash flow. therefore i can see a good opportunity for banks to offload their loans to these long - term investors. however, it is easier said than done. there are many issues that need to be tackled. just to name a few : the large transaction size of infrastructure loans makes concentration risk of ( a ) collateral a more prominent issue to be addressed, say as compared to the securitisation of a portfolio of mortgage loans comprising a large number of loans but with each being relatively small in size ; apart from being large in size, infrastructure loans tend to be significantly less homogenous than the other types of asset for securitisation. in fact, infrastructure ( b ) loans tend to be “ unique ” rather than “ common ”, and each can have its own risks and corresponding mitigation structures, which would pose challenges to the 2 / 3 bis central bankers'speeches structuring, rating and assessment processes ; given such unique nature of infrastructure loans, originating and managing an ( c ) infrastructure loan portfolio require the asset manager to possess highly specialized skillsets

caleb m fundanga : foreign private investment in zambia opening remarks by dr caleb m fundanga, governor of the bank of zambia, at the closing and dissemination workshop on foreign private investment and investor perceptions survey, lusaka, 20 january 2011. * * * the deputy secretary to the cabinet, mr evans chibiliti ; the deputy permanent secretary at the ministry of works and supply, mrs bweupe kaonga ; the mefmi executive director, dr elias ngalande ; the imf country representative, mr perry perone ; heads of government departments present ; chief executive officers of various companies and associations present colleagues from bank of zambia ; distinguished participants ; members of the press ; ladies and gentlemen. it is my honour and privilege to officiate at this very important closing and dissemination workshop of phase iii of the survey on foreign private investment and investor perceptions. as i welcome you all, i wish to convey my appreciation for your contributions to the success of this project. may i, in this regard, express our special appreciation to the private sector colleagues for their cooperation during the survey. let me also take this opportunity to extend my sincere gratitude to the private sector development ( psd ) programme, for providing financial support for this very important project. further, our thanks go to the macroeconomic and financial management institute ( mefmi ), and development finance international ( dfi ) for providing technical support to this survey. with their technical support, the government, through the balance of payments statistical committee, comprising representatives from the ministry of commerce, trade and industry, ministry of tourism and natural resources, zambia development agency, central statistical office and bank of zambia, was able to undertake this very important survey. distinguished participants, as you are aware, the zambian economy has recorded significant positive developments in the recent past, owing to the economic reforms the government has been implementing since 1992. these reforms have facilitated foreign investments in various sectors of the economy. these reforms have also resulted in zambia recording tremendous improvement in world ranking with regard to the ease of doing business. the favourable investment climate created has raised investor confidence in the zambian economy thereby attracting both local and foreign investments. ladies and gentlemen, the survey findings we are disseminating today show that the overall foreign private investment inflows in 2009, declined to us $ 935. 4 million from us $ 1, 932. 8 million recorded in 2007. this was explained mainly by the notable reduction in re - invested earnings, due to lower profits