國際專案融資交易關鍵成功因素之研究

Critical Success Factors in International Project Finance Transactions (with Questionnaire Survey Conducted Mainly in Taiwan)

鐵摩爾(TIMUR BITOKOV)

指導教授 ： 曾惠斌

國立臺灣大學/工學院/土木工程學研究所/碩士(2021年)

https://doi.org/10.6342/NTU202103008

摘要

本研究旨探討國際專案融資交易中之關鍵成功因素。關鍵成功因素係指於專案執行階段當中，執行者及管理者需高度關注之領域，以使專案達到預期或更佳之績效。近幾十年來，專案融資模式已成為給予大規模、資產專用性高（highly asset-specific）、資本密集型，具有獨立性基礎建設之專案提供資金之方法；本模式以專案未來預計能夠產生現金流能力為主要借款條件，償還債務及資本利率應報酬資金提供者所承擔的風險。此類交易中，通過成立一個法律及經濟上獨立之特殊專案個體（SPV），將專案以限追索權（limited-recourse）或無追索權（non-recourse）為基礎與發起人做分割。
專案融資交易於初期階段時，應經過發起人借款人（銀行）全方面之精心評估，以確保技術、財務，經濟等方面均為可行，並且充分考量所涉及規劃設計、施工、營運等之風險。專案融資另一特徵為以專案公司為中心建構縝密且高度複雜之契約安排，試圖將專案各類風險轉移至有最佳能力控管此風險的一方。
本研究憑藉專案融資及基礎建設財務、法律，及國際學術文獻分析等建立關鍵成功因素框架。在建立關鍵成功因素清單時，採用Gatti (2008)的觀點，認同“專案融資之成功基礎為針對專案於生命週期所面臨的風險仔細分析”。因此，透過參考文獻中的專案融資整體結構及主要風險介紹，建立潛在關鍵成功因素；進而將該些關鍵成功因素，根據專案階段以及因素類別，區分出規劃設計、施工及完工、市場及需求量、營運、原料供應、專案技術、利率、匯率、通膨、環境、交易方、政治及國家、法規，不可抗力等子類別。建立此子類別架構後，再以問卷形式，提供給法律、技術、財務/金融、學術、商業/國際業務等專業類別專業人士，請其評選關鍵成功因素之重要性。透過專家學者的問卷調查回覆，以及數據經過統計分析軟體加以分析後，找出關鍵成功因素類別相對重要性及互相之間關聯性及影響。
本研究發現，與專案早期階段相關因素獲得受訪者相對較高的重要性排名，證明本研究對成功與風險因素之間緊密關聯基本假設為正確。另，與土地徵收、完善並獨立驗證過之可行性研究及財務模型準備相關因素排名最高，突顯專案融資執行者需高度關注此類因素。同時，環境保護、勞動條件、預防腐敗，社區參與等因素相關排名較低，表明工程界需繼續加強對社會和公司治理（ESG）因素意識。

關鍵字

專案融資 ； 關鍵成功因素

並列摘要

This paper examines critical success factors – defined as area of a project’s general activity during any of its implementation stages, which should receive particular attention from management for the project to perform as expected or better in terms of the results anticipated by those who initiate it – in international project finance transactions. Project finance structures have in recent decades strongly emerged as one of the key techniques for financing large-scale, highly asset-specific, and capital-intensive stand-alone infrastructure projects, based on their ability to generate cash flows to repay the debt and capital at rates consistent with the degree of risks involved. As part of such a transaction, the project is established as a separate entity through the creation of a legally and economically independent Special Project Vehicle, thus separating the sponsors from being fully liable for project risks, achieving the so-called non-recourse or limited-recourse financing, and not relying on the soundness and creditworthiness of the sponsors. Project finance transactions are characterized by a thorough examination of the venture’s technical, economic and financial viability in initial development stages, as well as a careful assessment of its construction, operation, revenue, and other risks. The parties to the transaction allocate those risks through elaborate contractual arrangements in an attempt to control project risks through risk sharing and transferring structures by shifting it to parties best able to influence and control such risks. This creates a network of contracts with a larger than in other types of transactions number of project participants.
This research relied on a review of the project and infrastructure finance literature focused on financial, legal and academic aspects to identify the critical success factors, which are then developed into a framework separated into a number of categories related to the project pre-completion phase and post-completion phases by sub-categories related to project planning, completion or construction, market and demand, operations, supply, technology, interest rate, exchange rate, inflation, environmental, counterparty, political and country, legal and regulatory, and force majeure. The factors are then presented in a questionnaire form to professionals from financial, technical, legal, academic, international business / sales fields involved in project finance to rate their relative importance.
The questionnaire survey findings allow to establish whether the factors identified through literature examination are ranked as being important by market practitioners, along with which categories and sub-categories, as well as individual factors are ranked relatively higher than others. Statistical analysis of the data is performed to association between various groups and their influence upon each other.
This research finds that overall factors related to early stages of the project receive a higher relative importance score from respondents, which justifies our assumption of a close association between success and risk factors and is in line with the view that the largest degree of risk to the project lies in the early stages. Factors related to land acquisition, preparation of thorough financial models and feasibility study are ranked quite highly, underscoring the critical importance of these issues. At the same time lower ranking of factors related to environment protection, labor conditions, corruption prevention, community engagement, demonstrates the need strengthen the awareness of the importance of Environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) components of engineering transactions.

並列關鍵字

project finance ； critical success factors

參考文獻

English-language Sources Used

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• Akintoye A. Beck M. (editors) (2009). Policy, Finance Management for Public-Private Partnerships. New York: Wiley-Blackwell.

• Arnold G. (2014). Banks and banking: the Financial Times Guide to Banking. Harlow, England: Pearson Education.