Low Sin Leng on Working with Markets: The Right Formula

“To implement a project successfully that spans 10 to 20 years, you must remove the political and regulatory risk from the private sector.”

At the recent book launch lecture, Low Sin Leng shared that the key determinants of success for private public partnerships are – a win-win situation, an alignment of interests, complementary capabilities, efficient execution by the private sector and effective monitoring by the government. The former Senior Advisor and Executive Chairman of urban development group Sembcorp Development gave the example of a take-or-pay scheme condition where governments guarantee to pay a private operator for a fixed amount of water monthly for a period of time in exchange for a water plant. The stable income flow allows operators to allocate resources to meet stringent technical requirements and bid on a price that is profitable based on separate capabilities, such as in-house filtration techniques or lower cost of financing.

Interviewee

Low Sin Leng
Former Senior Advisor and Executive Chairman
Sembcorp Development;
Chairman, Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts