Jordan Schwarz

Accelerating Infrastructure: Leveraging Partnerships and Mitigating Risks

Cesar Purisima, Sean Chiao, Donald Kanak, Mahendra Lama, Jordan Schwarz

A high-level summit convened industry leaders, policymakers, and multilateral development bank officials to address the trillion-dollar infrastructure funding gap in the Asia-Pacific region, where projected demand from a growing middle class far outstrips current investment capabilities. Speakers highlighted that while substantial domestic liquidity exists in Japan and ASEAN central banks, institutional barriers, political risks, and fragmented project pipelines prevent capital from flowing into critical sectors like energy, digital connectivity, and climate-resilient transport. The discussion culminated in a consensus on mobilizing domestic pension and insurance funds through standardized frameworks and sovereign risk guarantees to achieve scalable, long-term infrastructure development across South and Southeast Asia.