Dear Colleagues,
Two PhD scholarship positions are available at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore to conduct research related to risk management and application of financial engineering concepts to PPP/BOT schemes. For this, I seek your help to disseminate the information to interested applicants. To ensure synergy in research, there are currently a few students working on other topics related to PPP/BOT initiatives and the successful applicant will have a chance to interact and share ideas in a research group.
Some general information has been summarized below, but the details are given in the attached documents for the two respective topics.
Research Topic 1 - Application of Financial Engineering to Infrastructure Project Investments:
Financial engineering plays an important role in modern risk and investment management. In the context of infrastructure investments, the application of financial engineering principles is not unprecedented and has been instrumental to the securitization of debt and equity holdings in infrastructure projects/assets. The principles however may be extended beyond such applications and coupled with other areas of risk management. For example, since each major infrastructure project originates from a different geographical regime and is associated with a different set of market and unique risks, financial evaluation and pricing of risk exposure
of infrastructure projects may be explored and structured at the "pool" level rather than a single project level. The scope of this research would include the study of securitization and risk management practices in other sectors such as real estate and explore how it could be applied to the context of large-scale infrastructure project investments worldwide.
Research Topic 2 - Political, Legal, and Regulatory Risks in Public-Private
Partnerships:
Infrastructure projects are exposed to numerous risks during the project life cycle of up to 30 years. In particular, recent international developments show the increasing exposure of infrastructure projects
to political, legal, and regulatory risks (PLRR). Project sponsors, lenders, and insurers need to assess these risks for setting aside contingency budgets, detect changes in the credit quality, valuate insurances, and design hedging strategies. Due to the large scale of PPPs, PPPs may involve many parties from local to an international lender and investor structure and multi-national project companies. Political, legal and regulatory risks (PLRR) affect the financial structure of such PPPs. Objectives of this research may include: (1) identifying and quantifying the PLRR; (2) mapping the effect of PLRR on PPP contracts; (3) determining the trigger structure for PLRR; (4) developing a tool for mitigating the PLRR; (5) assessing the
effect of PLR on the bankability and viability of PPPs.
Close collaboration with market and industry participants is expected. A strong quantitative focus with supporting qualitative methods is desired.
Research Scholarships:
The successful applicants will be sponsored under the NTU research scholarship scheme. Based on current terms and conditions, the scholarship provides a monthly allowance of Singapore Dollar 1,400~1,500 (up to 3 years) plus exemption from tuition/research fees. A further top-up to the stipend amount may possibly be given by the Centre for Infrastructure Systems of the school.
Application:
August 2007 Intake: Information, admission requirements and guidelines for online application are available at: http://www.ntu. edu.sg/GradStudi es/Research+ Programmes/ Admission/ .
Applicants can submit online application first, and then provide all relevant documents and test scores as soon as possible. Note that the deadline of application for the August 2007 intake is 28 February 2007. Preferred candidates should show professional or research experience related to PPP/BOT projects and possess good academic results in their Bachelor and Master degrees.
Contact:
Please contact the respective supervisors of the above topics as indicated in the documents attached. Interested candidates are encouraged to submit to the supervisors their CVs and a brief write-up on their intended approach to the research topics prior to online application.
Thank you and kind regards,
Charles Y.J. Cheah, PhD, CFA
Assistant Professor,
Division of Infrastructure Systems and Maritime Studies,
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
N1-1b-35, Nanyang Technological Univeristy,
50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798.
Tel: (65) - 6790 5267 Fax: (65) - 6791 0676
[sursa beasiswa]
