20 August - Singapore goes all in with private sector in infrastructure push

In the news:

Singapore has been moving forward on its aim to be the lead broker of infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia, and is intent on getting the private sector more involved. Globally, government funding accounts for about 40% of infrastructure spending, but in Asia it’s 90% - an “unsustainable” proportion, Indranee Rajah, minister in Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s office, said.

Freyr, a startup planning to build one of Europe’s first battery gigafactories in Norway, has a bigger vision for the region: a “Nordic Battery Belt".

UK-based rolling stock investor, developer and asset manager Rock Rail has secured £400 million in financing to buy 33 new Hitachi trains that will be leased by train operator Abellio UK for its new East Midlands Railway.