Six themes shaping infrastructure in 2011

ON SPECIALIST MARKETS

First State's Peter Meany predicts the big topics which will hit the global listed infrastructure sector this year.

Global listed infrastructure provided reasonable returns last year but lagged other asset classes as its defensive characteristics were overlooked in rising markets. We believe the sector will be impacted by six themes this year: the threat of rising inflation; structural growth in an inconsistent cyclical recovery; large-scale government privatisation; increased government interference in regulation and taxation of infrastructure; more share buybacks; and increased M&A activity. With surging commodity prices and QE, this year there is the real threat of a significant rise in inflatio...