Asia Infrastructure Forum 2021

Alfonso Garcia Mora is IFC’s Vice President for Asia and Pacific. Mr. Garcia Mora is responsible for all IFC operations in the region, including operationalizing IFC’s COVID-19 crisis response, building a strong Upstream pipeline rooted in country strategies and fostering more collaboration opportunities with a range of key stakeholders for broader impact.

Previously, Mr. Garcia Mora was the Global Director for the Finance Competitiveness and Innovation Global Practice at the World Bank Group. Before his World Bank Group career, Mr. Garcia Mora worked in the private sector for over 12 years, including as Partner-Managing Director at Analistas Financieros Internacionales Consulting Group.

A multi-awarded actor, T. V. host, and TV commercial director. He has won eleven (11) acting awards given by award-giving bodies both on television and film/cinema such as the Film Academy of the Philippines, FAMAS, Gawad Urian Awards, PMPC Star Awards and FANTASPORTO International Film Festival among others.

An accomplished sportsman and athlete, Mayor Richard has won gold medals in fencing in 2003 (Hanoi, Vietnam), and 2005 (SEA Games in Manila), setting national and international records in that sport. He also won two (2) silver medals in 1997 (SEA Games in Jakarta, Indonesia) and bronze medals in Thailand in the same sport. Locally, he was a 5-time national fencing champion and won 1st place during 2015 Asian Masters Fencing Championship. He is the incumbent Vice President of the Philippine Olympic Committee and the President of the Philippine Fencing Association (PFA) and the Philippine Modern Pentathlon Association (PMPA).

A product of up diliman and the up open university where he once received recognition as an “Outstanding Student of 1993”. Mayor Richard is a Master’s degree holder in business administration from the University of Perpetual Help, on top of pursuing graduate studies at the Film School of Continuing Education at the New York University. He has earned his Doctorate Degree in Public Administration from Cebu Technological University in 2019.

A man of faith and a family man, husband to Lucy and a loving father to their daughter Juliana.

Mr. Hem’s career spans across private sector, the United Nations system, multilateral development bank, and government. As Secretary of State, he looks after development financing, coordination and management of ODA (both strategy and operation), public debt management and supports key policy agenda. He coordinates a number of inter-ministerial mechanisms that tackle major infrastructures and urbanization challenges facing Cambodia. He is also a member of the Supreme National Economic Council, and incumbent Chair of the Country Coordinating Committee for the Global Fund program to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Cambodia.

Mr. Hem obtained his Mid-Career Master of Public Administration (Mason Fellow) from Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2014 and Master of Arts in International Development from International University of Japan in 2002. He received his undergraduate diploma of Bachelor of Business Administration from then National Institute of Management (Cambodia) in 1999.

Victoria Kwakwa was appointed World Bank Regional Vice President for East Asia and the Pacific (EAP) in April 2016. Prior to this appointment, she was World Bank Country Director for Vietnam. In her role as Regional Vice President for East Asia and the Pacific, Ms. Kwakwa leads the World Bank’s engagement in the 23-member countries in the region focusing on private sector led growth, human capital development and inclusion, and sustainable and resilient development.

Under Ms. Kwakwa’s leadership, the World Bank’s EAP region has given strategic priority to how countries in EAP move to higher productivity growth models, including through effective use of technology; addressing childhood stunting and improving learning outcomes; transitioning to cleaner energy paths and tackling the growing problem of marine debris. She has also focused on deepening partnership with regional bodies such as ASEAN and with other development actors in the region.

Ms. Kwakwa has led work on a range of economic policy issues such as economic competitiveness, fiscal management notably in resource rich economies and fiscal decentralization.

Since joining the World Bank as a Young Professional, Ms. Kwakwa has had several successful assignments as economist, country manager and country director in East Asia and in Africa. She has extensive field experience in Nigeria, Rwanda and Vietnam.

Hiroshi Matano is Executive Vice President at the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and a member of the World Bank Group leadership team. He is responsible for the long-term strategic planning and development of MIGA, guiding key finance and guarantee operations, forging partnerships and developing MIGA's business.

A native of Japan, Mr. Matano, brings more than thirty years of experience in banking and finance. As Global Head of Structured Finance at MUFG, Mr. Matano managed assets across key global markets, including the world’s largest renewable energy project portfolio. During this tenure, Mr. Matano was instrumental in the issuance of MUFG’s first green bond, and MUFG was recipient of the Global Bank of the Year award by Project Finance International.

Mr. Matano also contributed to the merger of Mitsubishi UFJ Securities and Morgan Stanley Japan, focusing on post-merger integration, and helping make the combined firm the leading investment bank in Japan.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Matano was seconded to the International Finance Corporation for three years. During this time, Mr. Matano executed long term investments in Indonesia, Thailand and Korea as part of a broader effort to support small and medium enterprises in the aftermath of the Asian currency crisis.

Mr. Matano received his Bachelor's degree from the Department of Economics at Keio University and his Master's degree from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University.

The Honourable Mary Ng was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Markham–Thornhill in April 2017. She was appointed Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion in the cabinet reshuffle in July 2018. Following her re-election as MP in the 2019 federal election, she was named Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade.

Minister Ng is a devoted community leader who has always believed in the power of public service. She has 20 years of experience in the areas of education, women’s leadership, job creation, and entrepreneurship.

Minister Ng immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong with her family, and grew up learning about the struggle and eventual success that many new immigrants experience in Canada.

Her years working for the Ontario Public Service, Ryerson University, and the Ontario Ministry of Education led to her being recognized as one of Canada’s top-performing public sector leaders. She later served as Director of Appointments for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Ms Indranee Rajah is the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Finance and Education.

She co-chairs the Modern Services Workstream under the Future Economy Council and provides Ministerial oversight of Infrastructure Asia.

She was in practice as a lawyer and Senior Counsel before joining Government. Under her law portfolio from 2012 – 2018, she co-chaired the Committees on Family Justice, the formation of the Singapore International Commercial Court as well as the Committee to Strengthen Singapore as an International Centre for Debt Restructuring. She also helmed the Steering Committee on the strategic direction of Singapore’s third law school at UniSIM.

Under her MOF portfolio, Ms Rajah co-chaired the Working Group on Legal and Accounting Services, a sub-committee of the 2016 Committee on the Future Economy, the recommendations of which are aimed at transforming the legal and accounting industries in Singapore and catalysing the internationalisation of such professional services.

Mr. Sanders is Senior Adviser to the President and General Counsel Emeritus at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. He earlier served as General Counsel of the AIIB. Previously he was General Counsel at the International Fund for Agricultural Development. Prior to that, Mr. Sanders held various positions at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, most recently as Deputy General Counsel.

Mr. Sanders has post-graduate law degrees from Victoria University of Wellington and Harvard Law School. He is qualified to practice in New Zealand, the State of Victoria, Australia, and England and Wales. He is a Chartered Accountant (Australia and New Zealand), a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment.

Mr. Sanders is Senior Fellow of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law and Honorary Professor at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies, Queen Mary, University of London.

Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman is currently serving as the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of India. She is a member of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian Parliament, since 2014. Smt. Sitharaman earlier served as the Defence Minister of India from 3rd September 2017 to 30th May 2019. She has previously served as the Minister for Commerce and Industry. She has featured in the Forbes 2020 list of 100 most powerful women.

Smt. Sitharaman holds a Master of Philosophy and Master of Arts in Economics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. She has worked towards institutionalizing policy analysis in India and established Centre for Public Policy Studies in Hyderabad in 1992. In 1997, she established Pranava, a school that won the British Council’s International School Award, for its unconventional approach to education. She has also served as a member of the National Commission for Women and as the National Spokesperson of the Bhartiya Janata Party.

Ambassador Romana Vlahutin is a career diplomat. Before joining Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1999 she worked as an analyst for the Bassiouni UN Commission for former Yugoslavia, the UN Tribunal (ICTY) in The Hague and the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington DC. As a Croatian diplomat she served in embassies in Washington (Head of Political Section) and Belgrade (Deputy Ambassador), and as the Head of Strategic Analysis and Policy Planning at the MFA in Zagreb (2000-2004). She also served as a Political Director of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo (2006-2007). From 2010-2014 she was the Foreign Policy Advisor to the President of Croatia. Most recently she was posted as the EU Ambassador to Albania (2014-2018). As of 1 March 2019, she has been appointed Special Coordinator and Ambassador at Large for Connectivity in the European External Action Service.

Ambassador Vlahutin is a graduate of Zagreb University (Faculty of Philosophy) and Harvard University (J.F.Kennedy School of Government). She is a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

Ms. Advincula is the Director of Project Development of the PPP Center of the Philippines. She is in charge of a team of highly competent and performing officers tasked to provide technical assistance to implementing agencies and local government units in developing PPP infrastructure projects. The PPP Center, an attached agency of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) is the government’s technical advisor and facilitator of the Philippine PPP Program.

Ms. Advincula was previously the Director of the Project Development and Monitoring Facility (PDMF) of the PPP Center. The PDMF is a facility available to fund pre-feasibility, feasibility studies, transaction advisory services in bid management and tender process, and monitoring of project implementation of PPP Projects in the Philippines.

Prior to joining the PPP Center, Ms. Advincula was a practicing lawyer advising private companies in construction, manufacturing, supply and distribution sectors. She used to work in the Philippine office of Baker & McKenzie, in the Corporate Commercial Practice Group. Ms. Advincula got her law and undergraduate degrees from the University of the Philippines.

Rahul Agarwal has over a decade of experience in Infrastructure Financing policy & Corporate Strategy. At Invest India, Rahul Co-Heads the teams for Real Estate, Infrastructure and Financial Investors Initiative which attracts SWFs, Pension Funds, and PE investments. Rahul has been instrumental in India’s first asset recycling project which saw investments of $1.5 Billion and has been working with Government and private entities across sectors to introduce new investment opportunities in the country.

Rahul also worked as a consultant for High Level Committee on Financing Infrastructure, Planning Commission, Government of India. Rahul was instrumental in developing infrastructure section of the 12th Five Year Plan of the country and updating Model Concessional Agreements for PPP. Rahul started his career with Bank of America Merrill Lynch as an Institutional Derivatives Analyst. Rahul holds a MBA (Finance) is also a Certified Financial Risk Manager and a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Mr. Arvi is the Director for Financing of Water Resource Infrastructure, Directorate General of Public Works and Housing Infrastructure Financing, Ministry of Public Works and Housing (MPWH), Republic of Indonesia. The Directorate of Water Resources Infrastructure Financing has the task of carrying out the preparation of policy formulations in the Water Resources Infrastructure Financing Implementation Sector.

Mr. Arvi was previously the Director of Evaluation for Housing Finance Subsidies, Directorate General of Housing Financing, Ministry of Public Works and Housing, Republic of Indonesia.

He studied Master of Arts in Urban Management at the Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, Netherlands after qualifying as an architect engineer at Research Institute for Human Settlements, Ministry of Public Works.

Under his MPWH portfolio, Mr Arvi leads the preparation for Merangin Dam as the first PPP’s Project on Water Resources Infrastructure in Indonesian.

Nitin Apte is the Chief Executive Officer of Vena Energy, a leading Independent Power Producer (IPP) of renewable energy in the Asia-Pacific region.

Prior to Vena Energy, Nitin was President and Chief Executive Officer of Materia, a speciality materials company he positioned for rapid growth through strategic partnerships and expansion of the company’s manufacturing footprint.

In the past, Nitin also worked for over 25-years at SABIC and General Electric, in assignments spanning profit-and-loss leadership, marketing, innovation, supply-chain management, Six Sigma, manufacturing and product management.

Nitin graduated from the Indian Institute of Technology in Mumbai, with a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering. He also holds M.S. and MBA degrees from Ohio State University in the United States.

Cyril Cabanes is Managing Director, Infrastructure, Asia Pacific at CDPQ, based in Singapore. In his role, he is responsible for all infrastructure investment activities in the Asia-Pacific region, which includes overseeing a team of ca. 20 investment professionals based in Singapore, Sydney and New Delhi and managing a diversified portfolio including ports, electricity networks, social infrastructure, public transport, renewables and power generation.

Mr. Cabanes has 23 years of experience in global infrastructure. Before joining CDPQ, he was Senior Vice-President, Development at Marubeni Corp. where he led the Asian IPP investment team in Singapore. Previously, he was Director and Portfolio Manager at Deutsche Asset Management’s DWS (formerly known as RREEF Infrastructure) in Sydney, where he was responsible for acquisitions, capital raising and product development for Asia-Pacific. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, he spent 10 years in investment banking and financial markets with RBS (where he was Head of Natural Resources, Power & Utilities for Australia and New Zealand), BNP Paribas and UBS.

Mr. Cabanes graduated with a Masters degree from ESCP-Europe Business School in Paris and attended the MBA programme at Drexel University in Philadelphia. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD), the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s Infrastructure Financing Facilitation Office (IFFO) and the World Bank’s Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF). He is a non-executive director of Azure Power Global, CLP India, Maple Highways and is chairman of Mercury Taiwan Holdings.

Isabel is the Regional Industry Director, Infrastructure and Natural Resources, Asia and Pacific, based in Singapore. For seven years prior to her current role, Isabel was the Regional Manager for PPP Transaction Advisory Services, initially for South Asia based in Delhi, and subsequently in Singapore as her mandate expanded to cover all Asia Pacific for the last four years. Isabel spent four years in IFC’s Subnational Finance unit where she worked in deal origination, structuring and supervision of debt and structured finance products in more than six countries in LAC. Before joining IFC, Isabel held various positions in World Bank operations in the urban sector in the Middle East and North Africa region, the water sector in Latin America, and the transport, power and urban sector in South Asia. Before joining the World Bank in 2001, Isabel worked in emerging markets and Western Europe for WS Atkins in the UK as Senior Management Consultant; working on infrastructure finance in Thailand, Argentina, Barbados, Qatar, the UK, and Europe.

Isabel, a civil engineer by training, holds an MBA and a PhD from the University of Birmingham (UK).

Mr Cheng joined Sembcorp in March 2021 and oversees the Group’s finance, strategy, portfolio, and commercial functions.

He brings with him extensive experience in financial and strategic leadership across the aviation, offshore oil & gas, marine engineering and logistics industries. Prior to joining SembCorp, Mr Cheng was chief corporate officer of SATS where he oversaw key business functions such as business development, strategic investments and mergers and acquisitions(M&A), as well as corporate strategy.

Mr Cheng also served as group chief corporate officer of IMC Industrial Group. He was an investment banker with JP Morgan and Citigroup, specializing M&A advisory, corporate financing and capital raising. Mr Cheng holds a Bachelor (First Class Honours) and a Master of Accountancy from Nanyang Technological University.

Dr Cheong Koon Hean is the Chair of the Centre for Liveable Cities (MND) and the incoming Chair of the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities (Singapore University of Technology and Design). She was formerly CEO (Housing and Development Board) from 2010 to 2020, overseeing the development and management of some 1 million public housing flats; CEO(Urban Redevelopment Authority) from 2004 to 2010 and concurrently Deputy Secretary ( Ministry of National Development) from 2001 to 2016. She played key roles in major urban transformations such as Marina Bay and the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco City. She serves on numerous advisory panels and is a board trustee of the National University of Singapore, former Deputy President/current Council member of the International Federation for Housing & Planning and Chair of the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize’s Nominating Committee.

Dr Cheong has received numerous awards, notably the Meritorious Service Medal for outstanding public service and is the first Asian to receive both the Urban Land Institute’s Prize for Urban Visionaries and the Lynn S Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award by the Council for Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat in 2016.

Daryl Chew is a Partner in Shearman & Sterling’s International Arbitration Group and Head of the Singapore office.

He represents clients in arbitrations involving a wide range of applicable laws, arbitration rules and venues, arising from construction (infrastructure, power, petrochemicals), energy (oil and gas, nuclear, renewables), M&A, joint venture and general commercial disputes. Daryl also serves as arbitrator.

Daryl consistently features as a leading individual in all major professional directories. He has been commended as one of the “most highly regarded” in the Asia Pacific region, a “brilliant all round talent” and a “phenomenal advocate”. Clients have also highlighted his “valuable strategic input”, “outstanding track record” and “consistently high-quality work”.

Daryl serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Maxwell Chambers, and has been appointed to various governmental, global and regional arbitration committees. A Singaporean national, Daryl is admitted in New York and Singapore. He speaks English and Mandarin.

Kim Huat has extensive experience in capital market, public and private mergers and acquisitions, cross-border joint ventures and private equity investments, both in Singapore and the region. He travels regularly in the Asia-Pacific region advising clients on a wide range of matters, including direct investments and infrastructure projects in China, major acquisitions in Korea, joint ventures in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Japan and cross-border mergers and acquisitions transactions. Kim Huat also advises foreign investors on their investments in Singapore, including listings on the Singapore Exchange, privatisations, secondary and dual listings.

He has been recognised as a leading lawyer by numerous leading legal directories, including Chambers Global, Chambers Asia Pacific, IFLR1000 and The Legal 500 Asia Pacific. Notably, he is recognised as an "Eminent Practitioner" in Chambers Asia Pacific and Chambers Global (also recognised as a Foreign Expert in China), “Market-Leading Lawyer” in Asialaw for Capital Markets and Corporate/M&A, and in Best Lawyers for Capital Markets, Corporate and Mergers & Acquisitions. He is also recognised by Who's Who Legal for Capital Markets: Debt and Equity, Merger & Acquisition and Corporate Governance.

Sanjeev has over 25 years of experience in the areas of real estate fund management, corporate finance, strategy and financial control. He is CEO – APFT, the fund manager of Ascendas India Trust (a-iTrust). a-iTrust is a property trust listed in Singapore with Assets Under Management of SGD 2.1 billion owning 14.4 million square feet of IT business park and logistics park space across Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune. Prior to joining CapitaLand, he was working as President of Real Estate at ICICI Venture Funds Mgmt. Co. Ltd., a leading private equity fund manager in India.

Sanjeev's prior work experience included stints with organisations such as Tata Group and Merrill Lynch across India, Hong Kong and London. Sanjeev is a qualified chartered accountant, graduate company secretary and holds a Master of Business Administration from London Business School.

Colin is Professor in Engineering Project Management within the School of Engineering at The University of Melbourne and a Senior Fellow of the Law School. He has held a range of executive positions both within the university and industry, e.g. he is a recent past Director of Infrastructure Australia and a current Director of the Australian Certification Authority for Reinforcing and Structural Steels (ACRS).

Colin has extensive experience in the governance of long term contracts and the interaction between policy, technical matters, risk management, financing and contractual arrangements as they apply to infrastructure. This expertise has been gained through an involvement in infrastructure delivery for public and private clients (both as a practitioner and researcher); and as an adviser to projects on risk and project structuring; and as an independent reviewer and researcher of major engineering contracts.

Further details are available at https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/14545-colin-duffield

Victoria brings over 25 years of experience in infrastructure finance, M&A and structuring of infrastructure projects, with extensive private sector experience in water & wastewater, transport and solid waste sectors that span Africa, ECA, MENA and South and East Asia Pacific. She worked at law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in London, Paris and Frankfurt for seven years, as in-house international counsel at the utility company Veolia Environnement for seven years and then at the World Bank for 14 years. At IFC she leads a team focused on creating markets and developing a pipeline of bankable infrastructure projects in Asia.

She co-edited the book “International Project Finance and PPPs” (Kluwer/ Aspen Publishing) and co-authored publications on private participation in infrastructure, incentive-based regulation and commercial finance.

Victoria holds an MA in law from Oxford University (UK).

Alex is a Senior Investment Manager for Climate Fund Managers; a Hague-based Manager focused on mitigating the effects of climate change using blended finance to invest in projects and assets in developing Asia and Africa.

Alex’ focus is the recently established Climate Investor 2, which invests in water projects, including Municipal and industrial water and wastewater supply, Desalination, Bulk water supply, Waste and wastewater to energy and Riverine and coastal ecosystem management and protection.

Alex has over 15 years’ experience in public and private markets - advising and investing alongside some of the world’s largest Funds Management, Corporate and Financial Institutions. Before moving to Singapore, Alex spent 8 years as a Director of Beerworth +Partners, a Sydney based Investment Bank with particular expertise in complex and contested situations, prior to which he held senior roles in the Investment Banks of Societe Generale (SocGen) and United Overseas Bank (UOB).

Chief Legal Officer of Acciona, a Spanish multinational conglomerate focused on sustainable infrastructures and renewable energy. As head of the group legal role, he leads a 200 people team with presence amongst others in Phillipines, Australia, Vietnam, and India. Mr. Figueroa has been involved in several multibillion arbitration procedures in the region.

Mr. Figueroa is member of the Executive Committee of Acciona and serves as board member in several Board of Directors. He has been recognized as one of the most influential General Counsels in Spain by Chambers.

Keiko Honda is Adjunct Professor and Adjunct Senior Research Scholar of Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, where she teaches ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) investing to graduate students. Keiko also serves as a board member of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and AGC (ex Asahi Glass) , Adjunct Professor of Hitotsubashi University, and a member of the United Nation’s Investment Management Committee.

Until the end of October 2019, Keiko was the Chief Executive Officer of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), the political risk insurance and credit enhancement arm of the World Bank Group. MIGA supports cross-border equity investors and lenders by providing coverage against currency inconvertibility and transfer restriction, expropriation, war and civil disturbance, breach of contract, and non-honoring of financial obligations.

Before joining MIGA, Keiko was the first woman Senior Partner in Asia at McKinsey & Company, where she advised financial institutions on corporate finance and strategy and business development for 24 years.

She received the Joseph Wharton Social Award from the Wharton New York Club in 2020.

Keiko holds a bachelor’s degree in consumer economics from Ochanomizu University and an MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, where she was selected as a Fulbright Scholar.

Arun is an entrepreneur, investor and technologist focused on Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, AR/VR , IT software and infrastructure for enterprise, data analytics, cloud platform, open source technologies, healthcare and infrastructure for sustainable energy.

He has over 26 years of experience as a product centric founder, General Manager and CEO at startups and Fortune 500 companies in the US, Europe and Asia.

Arun has a diverse background in building enterprise focused startups, and has extensive operational experience in expanding companies in Asia and the emerging markets with a strong understanding of local laws, cultural and market demands, His experience in investing in disruptive startups, coupled with strong financial industry experience from trading to debt financing and equity research has also made him a well recognized and respected quant.

Being a mentor to entrepreneurs building technology-based businesses is Arun’s greatest passion. He is driven by the desire to make a positive impact through helping the entrepreneurs building and scaling businesses focused on new energy sources, achieving petroleum independence, building sustainable medical ecosystems, and promoting pragmatic approaches to environmentalism.

Additionally, he has taken a special interest in micro-finance as a poverty alleviation tool, because of his fervent dedication to social entrepreneurship. He is a supporter of many micro-finance organizations in India, Africa and the Middle East, and is actively building software companies to help them manage and grow in these regions.

Farchad Kaviani has been appointed Managing Director of Municipal Water for SUEZ in Southeast Asia since 2018. He leads the Design & Build, investment projects and O&M for SUEZ’s municipal market within the region, overseeing offices and facilities in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia.

Farchad was previously Managing Director of Ozonia Asia and has more than 26 years of extensive business and international experience for SUEZ group. He has spent the past 15 years working in Asia, including, China, Korea and Japan. He has successfully spearheaded growth and transformation in key management positions in waste and water sectors.

Farchad earned his master’s degree in microbiology from the University of Paul Sabatier Toulouse, in France and completed by a Commercial business degree in IPC Toulouse.

Dr. Khemro has achieved a Bachelor Degree in Civil Engineering in Phnom Penh in 1991 and was awarded with the Chevening Scholarship to study in England from 1993 to 2000 where he achieved a Post Graduate Diploma in Urban Development and Planning Practice for the Developing Countries, a Master of Science in Economic of Urbanisation and Managing the City Economy, and a Ph.D. in Development Planning Studies at the University College London. In 2007, he was awarded with the Netherland Scholarsip to study in Rotterdam at IHS, Erassmus University on Post Graduate Diploma in Land Management and Informal Settlement Regularisation. He has published and co-authors with a few publications in the fields of urbanisation, land management and urban poor settlements as well as land dispute resolution in Cambodia.

Dr. Khemro has been with the ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning and Construction and hold the position as the Director General of the General Department of Housing, the Deputy General Secretary for the National Committee for Urbanization and Land Management as well as the Deputy Secretary General for Board Architect of Cambodia. He has also involved in capacity building through providing lectures to a number of universities including the Royal University of Law and Economic, The Royal University of Agriculture and the Royal Academy of Cambodia. More recently has been lecturing at the Royal National School of Administration for the Master Degree programme on Urbanization and Land Management. Dr. Khemro has also in the recent past times, worked as a freelance consultant to many National and International Organisations including the ADB, World Bank, Cities Alliances, World Vision, UNHABITAT, UNESCAP, FAO, Global Platform and a few other NGOs.

Vatsal Khullar is a member of the Financial Investors Initiative at Invest India. As part of the Initiative, Vatsal worked on designing and developing India’s first portal to promote opportunities in stressed assets, valued at $150 Billion. He works on attracting institutional investment in India by analyzing investor strategy and curating investment opportunities. Vatsal leads the Roads and Highways Sector at Invest India and works closely with the Project Development Cell at the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to further propel investments in the sector. He also leads the Germany Team and facilitates investments from other Eastern European countries. As part of the Germany Team, he also spearheads the execution of the G-2-G Indo-German Fast Track Mechanism, with over 87% of the issues resolved.

Vatsal has previously worked with PRS Legislative Research, tracking macro-economic policy and financial sector regulation. He has worked on key legislation and published research briefs on those including the Goods and Services Tax, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, the Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, among others. Vatsal has closely analyzed financial position of Indian states and published two annual reports comparing 20+ states, and authored analyses of state budgets. He has briefed federal and state legislators and deposed before the Joint Committee of Parliament on the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, with inputs on strengthening the regulatory framework. Vatsal has also briefly worked on a research project on the ‘Encryption Framework in India’ in collaboration with NASSCOM, at The Quantum Hub.

Vatsal holds a Bachelor’s in Business Studies from Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, University of Delhi.

Mr. Ashok Lavasa is the Vice President for Private Sector Operations and Public Private Partnerships with the Asian Development Bank. Prior to joining ADB in September 2020, he was an Election Commissioner in India from January 2018 to August 2020.

He served for nearly four decades with various government agencies in India including as Union Finance Secretary, Secretary Environment & Climate Change and Secretary Civil Aviation. He also served as Additional Secretary and Special Secretary for Power. As a senior member of the Indian Administrative Service, he advanced public policy and program implementation initiatives covering the finance, power, environment and climate change, civil aviation, infrastructure, and tourism sectors. He led the official Indian delegation for climate change negotiations for the Paris Agreement at COP21.

He completed M. Phil. from Madras University (India), MBA from Southern Cross University (Australia) and MA (English) from Delhi University (India).

Philip is the Segment Lead for Water & Wastewater industry in Asia Pacific.

Philip has held numerous leadership roles across engineering, sales and business development in the region.

Working alongside government and industry organizations, he has lead ABB’s effort to spearhead adoption of digital technologies in the water industry.

George Lim was called to the Bar in Singapore in 1981, and was appointed Senior Counsel in 2010. He was President of the Law Society of Singapore between 1998-1999. In January 2017, George was appointed Chairman of the Singapore International Mediation Centre.

George is on the panel of arbitrators of the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC). He is the Dispute Resolution Counsellor of the National Electricity Market of Singapore, and manages the dispute management process of the electricity market.

George served as the first chairman of the Asian Mediation Association (2009–2010). In 2013, he co-chaired a working group, appointed by Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon and the Ministry of Law, to make recommendations on developing Singapore into a centre for international commercial mediation.

George was Singapore’s mediation consultant to UNCITRAL Working Group II, which led to the adoption of the Singapore Convention on Mediation. In October 2019, he was appointed to the Roster of Panel Chairs of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on Dispute Settlement.

George is the co-editor of Mediation in Singapore: A Practical Guide. In 2020, he was identified by The International Who’s Who of Commercial Mediation as being among 429 of the world’s leading commercial mediators and was named a global thought leader in mediation. According to Who’s Who: “George Lim, SC is a leading light in the Singaporean ADR scene, and has mediated over 500 disputes, including several complex, cross-border commercial matters”.

Subash has more than 25 years of experience in the banking industry with 20 years in infrastructure and structured financing. He started off his career in trade finance and corporate banking before moving into structured finance. Subash has worked as advisor, arranger and structurer on deals in the power, infrastructure, and oil and gas sectors in Asia Pacific, with cross-jurisdictional experience in India, Europe, Australia, and Singapore. His execution expertise includes ECA financing and multilateral schemes to complement senior commercial bank debt.

Subash was part of the team that helped set up Clifford Capital and part of the steering committee for the establishment of the DBS Australian Branch. He has been an integral part of the APLMA Project Finance sub-committee for Singapore and Asia and has participated as a guest speaker and panellist across various conferences in Asia.

Prior to DBS, he worked with ANZ and Standard Chartered Bank. Subash Narayanan holds a MBA from Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta and B.Tech from Regional Engineering College, Calicut.

David Marsh is Chairman and Co-Founder of OMFIF. Before starting at OMFIF in late 2009, he worked for City merchant bank Robert Fleming, corporate finance boutique Hawkpoint, German management consultancy Droege and London investment firm London & Oxford. Marsh took over the chairmanship from John Plender on 1 January 2018 having been Managing Director since 2014. He moved to a non-executive role following John Orchard’s appointment as Chief Executive effective 1 January 2020.

Marsh is a Board Member of the British Chamber of Commerce in Germany, and visiting Professor at Sheffield University and King’s College London. He is former co-founder, chairman and deputy chairman of the German-British Forum. He was made Commander of the British Empire in 2000 and was awarded the German Order of Merit (Bundesverdienstkreuz) in 2003.

He started his career at Reuters in 1973 having graduated with a BA in chemistry from The Queen’s College Oxford. Between 1978 and 1995 he worked for the Financial Times in France and Germany, latterly as European Editor in London. Marsh has written six books: Six Days in in September – Black Wednesday, Brexit and the Making of Europe (2017, with William Keegan and Richard Roberts); Europe’s Deadlock: How the Crisis Could Be Solved – And Why It Won’t Happen (2013); The Euro – The Politics of the New Global Currency (2009 – re-released in 2011 as The Battle for the New Global Currency); Germany and Europe – The Crisis of Unity (1994); The Bundesbank – The Bank that Rules Europe (1992); and Germany – Rich, Bothered and Divided (1989 – re-released in 1990 as The New Germany.

Kai jointly leads client coverage, and deal origination, structuring and execution for Clifford Capital with a focus on the infrastructure sector.

He has over 12 years’ experience in project and structured finance, with roles at Mizuho Bank, DBS and Singapore Power. During this time, Kai led financial advisory and lending transactions for a wide range of projects covering power (conventional and renewables), natural resources (oil and gas, LNG) and infrastructure.

Kai holds an MBA from the University of Cambridge, as well as a Master of Business Law from the University of Sydney.

Jot Ley is the First Vice President & Team Head of Infrastructure Financing Service Centre at China Construction Bank, Singapore Branch.

He oversees a team that originates and executes project finance, multilateral and Export Credit Agency backed financing in ASEAN countries, Pakistan and India.

Jot Ley has more than 15 years of banking experience in corporate/project finance and has involved in transactions across power, water, transport infrastructure and energy sectors. He received his Bachelor of Commerce degree from Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.

Yee Ean is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Surbana Jurong Capital, an investment platform of Surbana Jurong Group that focuses on financing of infrastructure and urban development. Surbana Jurong Capital leverages on the extensive engineering skills and development network of Surbana Jurong Group (SJ), which has over 70 years of track record, a workforce of 16,500 engineering and urban professionals, and more than 120 offices globally.

Prior to this appointment, Yee Ean was Director General of Investment Operations in AIIB, where he strategically identified and executed infrastructure investments in Asia. He also held various senior positions at Ascendas, including Senior Vice President in charge of Real Estates Funds where he co-led the SGX listing of a S$700 million market value Ascendas Hospitality Trust, and Assistant Chief Executive Officer of Ascendas Services Pte Ltd, where he oversaw the asset management of Ascendas’ industrial and commercial developments in both listed and non-listed entities in Singapore.

Mr. Shailesh Pathak is Head-Special Initiatives, Development Projects at Larsen & Toubro Ltd, Mumbai. He has over 3 decades of experience shared evenly between the private sector and Government of India's IAS (Indian Administrative Service) and has been CEO/MD of large companies in both private and government sectors.

He has 360-degree experience in infrastructure finance and execution. He has worked in private equity investing and fundraising (both national and global), project finance, project structuring, preparation and appraisal, and investment banking, as well as project construction and operation of a large infrastructure asset platform across transport and energy. He has also worked on infrastructure project development in African countries.

Since 2016, he has been part of the Finance & Infrastructure Task Force in B20, the business group of G20 nations, currently G20 Italy 2021. He is co-chair of the BRICS Business Council's Infrastructure Working Group 2021, apart from affiliations with leading Indian business chambers.

He completed his MBA from IIM Calcutta and his B Com (Hons) from SRCC Delhi. He also has an LLB and a Diploma in Business Finance. He attended a leadership program at Said Business School, University of Oxford in 2011.

Vivek Pathak is IFC’s Global Head and Director of Climate Business.

In this role, he facilitates business growth, provides thought leadership, new product development and facilitates all work related to climate business. He is responsible for identifying new business opportunities for climate business and facilitating the mobilization of capital into this space.

Prior to his current appointment, Mr. Pathak was IFC’s Regional Director for East Asia and the Pacific, leading advisory and investment operations across 18 countries, which in fiscal year 2020 reached US$4.2 billion in long-term investments, including funds mobilized from other investors. He has extensive emerging markets experience in principal investments, restructuring and risk management. Earlier in his career, Mr. Pathak was Global Head and Director for Investment and Credit Risk, responsible for global coverage of credit risk, investment risk, integrity risk, pricing and credit/equity training. Prior to that he oversaw IFC’s portfolio in the Middle East and North Africa and led business development in frontier markets in the Middle East and North Africa.

Before IFC, Mr. Pathak worked at Bank of America and ABN AMRO Bank in new business and risk management.

Mohan is Head of the Singapore Joint Law Venture of Pinsent Masons MPillay LLP. He is jointly qualified in Singapore, and England and Wales, with over 30 years’ experience in advisory, commercial litigation and regional arbitration work, particularly in infrastructure projects.

Mohan is a Senior Accredited Specialist in Building and Construction Law, and has advised clients on complex disputes over major infrastructure projects across Asia, under ICC, UNCITRAL, SIAC and other arbitration rules. He has appeared as Lead Counsel, both before arbitration tribunals, as well as the High Court and Court of Appeal in Singapore. Mohan is a Chartered Arbitrator and has been appointed Arbitrator (both sole and presiding) in domestic and international matters, and was a member of the Working Group under the Singapore Ministry of Law that developed the 2018 Singapore Infrastructure Dispute-Management Protocol.

Mohan is the General Editor of the Singapore Arbitration Journal, a twice yearly publication of SIArb launched in 2019, co-published with the Singapore Academy of Law. He is also regularly ranked as a leading practitioner in legal publications including ranking as a Leading Individual for International Arbitration in Singapore by Legal 500 Asia Pacific.

Sir Vivian Ramsey studied engineering science and economics at Oxford before qualifying as a chartered civil engineer.

He studied law at the City University and qualified as a barrister. He became a QC and head of Keating Chambers in London and had an extensive international practice dealing with construction, IT, technology and infrastructure disputes.

He was appointed as an English High Court judge and was judge in charge of the Technology and Construction Court from 2007 to 2010.

He is now an International Judge in the Singapore International Commercial Court. He also continues to act as an arbitrator, mediator, expert and dispute board member around the world. He is a Visiting Professor at King's College, London and he edits Keating on Construction Contracts, now in its 11th edition.

Govind leads the Railways and Urban Transportation Sector at Invest India and works closely with the Project Development Cell at the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to further propel investments. He has worked extensively on major recent PPP projects in Railways including Passenger Train Operations, Station Redevelopment, and Dedicated Freight Corridors.

Govind is also a member of the Financial Investors Initiative at Invest India, wherein he has worked on India’s first portal to promote opportunities in stressed assets, valued at $150 billion. He works on attracting institutional investment in India by analyzing investor strategy and curating investment opportunities.

Govind has previously worked with The National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and worked towards the vision of implementing the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, an initiative to make India the ‘Skill Capital’ of the world, through fund raising and end to end project implementation of projects across the country.

Govind holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the University of Toronto, Canada.

Taufiq Budi Santoso is a Senior Officer in West Java Provincial Government. His current position is the Assistant Secretary for Economic and Development Affairs. He started his assignment within West Java Provincial Government in the beginning of 1992 at the West Java Development Planning Agency. During his 30 years career, he held various position in different offices, among others The Head of Economic Bureau and the Head of Development Planning Agency.

He played significant role to introduce and promote innovative financing scheme for local infrastructure development by establishing the West Java Public Private Partnership (PPP) Node in 2019 and led this entity until late 2020. In this context, he involves actively to develop and expedite several PPP projects in West Java Province. Under his leadership, West Java Provincial Government has succeeded to prepare Legok Nangka Waste to Energy Project until it reaches the transaction stage. Currently, he is in-charge as the Head of PPP Team for Regional Water Supply System (RWSS) Project wherein The Jatigede RWSS Project is one of several RWSS projects in West Java.

Ludger Schuknecht is Visiting Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore. Previously, he was Deputy Secretary-General at the OECD and Director General, G20 Deputy and Chief Economist at the German Federal Ministry of Finance. He also held posts at the European Central Bank, the World Trade Organization and the International Monetary Fund.

His research interests include international finance and fiscal policy, expenditure policies and the role of the state. His books include Public Spending and the Role of the State: History, Performance, Risk and Remedies (November 2020) and Public Spending in the 20th Century: A Global Perspective, co-authored with Vito Tanzi (2000), both published by Cambridge University Press and Trade Protection in the European Union (Harwood Academic Publishers, 1992).

Mia Mary Sebastian is a Deputy Executive Director of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center of the Philippines. She leads the development and structuring of PPP projects and management of technical assistance agreements with multilateral and bilateral partners of the government. She also heads the PPP pipeline development at the subnational level, with particular focus on sustainable infrastructure PPP projects.

Prior to Mia’s current role, she worked in finance and law in London and Manila. She holds an MBA degree from London Business School and degrees in Law and Business Economics from the University of the Philippines.

Ms. Shen Min, Deputy General Manager of Global Finance Department, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Senior Accountant.

Global Finance Department is the professional operating division of ICBC for global investment and financing. It’s main business focus is in providing financing for sectors like export credit, global power and resources, cross-border merger and acquisition, international syndication, infrastructure, global manufacturing and lease, aircraft, shipping and meeting various financial demands for the clients.

Ms. Shen Min has served in ICBC for over 28 years and has rich professional and management experience in energy and power financing, aircraft and shipping financing, international syndication and export credit.

Ms. Shen Min also represents ICBC as the only Chinese institution in the Advisory Committee of Global Infrastructure Facility(GIF) in World Bank. GIF is a multilateral cooperation mechanism which is dedicated to supporting infrastructure projects in emerging markets and developing countries, including power, transportation, telecommunications, water and public health. The managing director and Chief Financial Officer of the World Bank Group serves as the co-chairman of GIF.

Ms. Shen Min graduated from The London School of Economics and Political Science and has a master’s degree in accounting and finance.

Sharad is Partner and ASPAC Head of Infrastructure for KPMG. He brings over 20 years of experience in the infrastructure industry covering transport and utilities sectors. His skill set includes end-to-end project advisory across the project lifecycle. His passion is to help bring technology and innovative financing for better infrastructure delivery.

Sharad has been advising various government and private sector clients in the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa regions. He has worked extensively with utilities and transport projects including water sector PPPs in Singapore (NEWater and Desalination projects); waste management projects in Singapore (Waste to energy PPPs); procured 2GW of aggregate solar IPPs in the Bahrain, Dubai, Indonesia and Vietnam; electricity utility restructuring / regulatory advisory in Brunei, India, Singapore, and Vietnam; airport projects in Indonesia and Thailand.

Sharad started his career as a power plant engineer before joining an investment bank and later an international infrastructure developer before joining KPMG.

Sharad is electronics engineer with an MBA in Finance.

Mr. G Suresh is working as Advisor - Finance with National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). He is a practicing Advocate enrolled with Bar Council of Delhi, India.. He had earlier worked for 16 years as an officer of NHAI, last post held being as Chief General Manager-FA. He has also worked for 21 years in an Indian Commercial Bank in the Public sector. His area of expertise is in Resource mobilization, Accounts and Audit, PPP, BOT, Contractual matters, procurement of EPC/ BOT Contractors and Concessionaires, Supervision Engineers etc.

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was set up a Statutory Authority by an act of the Indian Parliament, NHAI Act, 1988 “An Act to provide for the constitution of an Authority for the development, maintenance and management of national highways and for matter connected therewith or incidental thereto”. NHAI has been entrusted with Bharatmala Pariyojana, National Highways Development Project, and along with other minor projects, has vested in it (approx.) 65,000 km’s of National Highways for development, maintenance and management. The total length of NH (including expressways) in the country at present is 1,32,499 km. While highways/expressways constitute only about 1.7% of the length of all roads, they carry about 40% of the road traffic. The current capital base of NHAI stands at INR.26OO Billion, with assets of value well over INR.10,000 Billion.

Mr Tay Kiat Seng is the Executive Chairman and CEO of Memiontec Holdings Limited, listed on the SGX-ST since March 2020. Mr Tay co-founded Memiontec in 1992.

As Executive Chairman and CEO of the Group, Mr Tay is responsible for overseeing its business performance and direction as well as formulating, developing and overseeing the execution of business strategies for growth and expansion. He also drives the Group’s business growth and is directly responsible for growing the Group’s foreign subsidiaries in Indonesia and the PRC.

Mr Tay has over 31 years of experience in the water treatment industry. Under his leadership, Mr Tay has grown and expanded Memiontec’s footprint into Indonesia where it has become a leading player in the water industry. In 2020, he secured 3 prominent TSEPC projects in Indonesia in Makassar, Jambi and Palembang; and another BOOT project at Pekan Baru, collaborating with prominent civil engineering and infrastructure companies.

Tse obtained his civil engineering degree from Leeds University and has 39 years of experience, all in water and environmental engineering.

Tse started his career in 1982 with the then Ministry of the Environment cleaning up Singapore River. He joined Binnies Singapore in 1990 and have been working for the same company since. He has a long history with PUB, and has worked on numerous water and used water infrastructure projects in Singapore including some PPP initiatives such as SingSpring Desalination Plant and Changi NEWater Plant 1.

Tse has worked in many SE Asia countries and spent 10 years of his professional life in China. For the past 3 years he has been active in Manila assisting Manila Water in implementing a range of water supply and used water projects.

Luca Tonello leads one of Asia’s most respected teams engaged in capital raising and advisory for the infrastructure and energy sectors at SMBC. He oversees a multi-billion dollars Asia focused portfolio with exposure to sustainable energy, power, infrastructure and natural resources. Over the last decade, Mr. Tonello and his team have contributed to the development of critical infrastructure in Asia. For its contribution, the team has received several prestigious industry awards and recognitions, most recently the 2018 Asia Pacific Bank of the Year by Project Finance International and 2018 Asia Pacific Financial Adviser of the Year by IJGlobal.

Besides chairing the Finance Committee of ICCS over the last two years, Mr. Tonello was recently invited to join the alliance board of Infrastructure Asia (IA), a government initiative aimed at developing Singapore as the infrastructure hub in ASEAN. Mr. Tonello is committed to supporting the infrastructure finance industry in Asia as Chairman of the Project Finance Committee of the Asia Pacific Loan Market Association (APLMA) and as board member of the International Project Finance Association (IPFA). He has contributed to several working groups on infrastructure development and financing promoted by the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Asia Development Bank (ADB), the Infrastructure Finance Facilitation Office (IFFO) of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Indonesia Minister of Finance, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the OECD Organization to name a few.

Mr. Tonello graduated in Mechanical Engineering with a major in energy. He spent the early part of his banking career in London where he also graduated from the London Business School with a Master in Finance before moving to Singapore.

Mr Kelvin Wong is Managing Director, Head of Power & Utilities of DBS Bank and has more than 18 years of experience in corporate and project finance in Asia. His 21 year professional experience as an energy regulator, business consultant and corporate financier (including project finance and mergers and acquisitions) offers unique insights to the energy and infrastructure sectors in the Asia-Pacific region.

Prior to his role in DBS Bank, Kelvin held senior appointments at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Standard Chartered Bank, KPMG Corporate Finance Pte Ltd and Energy Market Authority of Singapore. During his years of involvement in the energy and infrastructure sectors, he has worked on various opportunities in carbon credit, renewable energy / power, oil and gas, and telecommunication sectors in Asia Pacific, both as an advisor and as a financier.

Lei Zhang founded Envision Group in 2007. With the mission “to Solve the Challenges for a Sustainable Future”, Envision is committed to creating a world of beautiful energy. As one of the world's leading greentech company, Envision designs, sells and operates smart wind turbines through Envision Energy, AIoT-powered batteries through Envision AESC and the world’s largest AIoT operating system through Envision Digital. It also owns a leading Formula E team, Envision Virgin Racing. Envision is an innovation powerhouse, leveraging a global network of R&D and engineering centers covering the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Lei Zhang was named as one of the “Top 10 Sino-U.S. Innovators of the Year” by Forbes China. Under his leadership, Envision was named as one of “China’s 50 Business Pioneers -- Defining the Future” in 2016 by Fortune China, and was featured on the cover of the magazine. In June 2019, Envision ranked in the top 10 of MIT Technology Review's “50 Smartest Companies” list.

Lei Zhang graduated from the London School of Economics.