Risk Mitigation and Sovereign Guarantees for Public–Private Partnerships in Developing Economies

Abstract

Public–private partnerships (PPPs) face a range of challenges in developed economies, such as appropriate risk sharing, attracting the right sponsors, and ensuring quality of service. As a large percentage of ADB’s developing member countries are considered risky borrowers by international standards, sovereign risks play an important role in predicting the number of PPPs as well as the size of investment commitments. To catalyze PPPs in developing economies with higher risk ratings, sovereign risk mitigation is often needed. This article explores how country and sovereign risks deter private investors, solutions provided by multilateral development banks to reduce these risks, and policy implications for employing these solutions.

Keywords: public–private partnership, risk mitigation, sovereign guarantees

JEL Classification: G32, H41, H81