Japan Plans New Infrastructure Market

MarketWatch reports that the Japan Exchange Group, operator of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, will create a new market to attract private capital for infrastructure.

As the piece details:

Nikkei said the new market will list funds for infrastructure investment and other sectors expected to grow in the future, such as renewable energy and overseas infrastructure projects, according to Japan Exchange officials.

Infrastructure investment funds pull in capital from private investors that is used to build airports, roads and ports, for example, along with energy facilities, gas pipelines and other infrastructure. The investors buy shares in the infrastructure itself or in the companies that manage it, receiving dividends or other gains. There are about 50 infrastructure investment funds listed world-wide, with a total market capitalization of 10.4 trillion yen ($110.24 billion) as of the end of January.

This new development is an indicator of three things: 

First, infrastructure spending as an economic tool is still in vogue--and probably always will be, because infrastructure is the stuff of economic growth. 

Second, in this market-oriented, libertarian-influenced world, infrastructure spending is always likely to have a strong public-private partnership theme to it.

Third, there's plenty of money to be made in infrastructure development.