What are the Latest trends of Project Finance?

Project finance relies primarily on the cash flows generated by the project serve as the source of loan repayment with the project's assets serves as a pledge for a non-recourse loan. It is the long-term infrastructure and the main characteristic is its non-recourse or limited recourse structure.

Financing involves the debt, contingent equity, and a variety of limited guarantees through a newly organized company for the purpose of building a capital intensive facility. Project finance is not appropriate for small projects. While it is more expensive and it enables sponsors to finance projects off-balance sheet that makes the form of finance attractive for joint ventures, PPPs, infrastructure projects or other projects where a sponsor wishes to buckler its other assets from the risk of a project failure.

Latest trends of project finance

The significant development has seen in the last financial year in the sectors such as city gas distribution projects, aviation, and renewable energy, India has also witnessed a consolidation of sorts and an increased focus in resolving assets. The RBI, by its circular dated 12 February 2018 has completely refurbished the regulatory framework for the resolution of stressed assets. It supplants all existing restructuring frameworks including resolution under the joint lenders’ forum and strategic debt restructuring and provides for a unified framework for restructuring of stressed assets.

India has also cleared faster adoption and manufacturing of electric vehicles, to increase the push for electric vehicles and energy storage systems in India. there has also been a focus on making infrastructure projects more bankable with the modification being made in standard form concession agreements to make infrastructure projects more appealing to developers. The roads and transportation sector has also seen the introduction of the toll-operate-transfer model.

7 Main Functions of Investment Banking Firm

Investment banks are the intermediary organisations that serve a variety of services such as handling of mergers and acquisition, underwriting of new stock issues, and acts as a financial advisor. They act as a middleman between issuer and investor and helps clients raise capital through equity and debt offering. Some of the investment banks are Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Credit Issue, etc.

Functions of investment banking firms are:

1. Advisor : An investment bank serves as an adviser to any company and assists in the best possible way to raise capital, including selling bonds and shares, if necessary. Financial analysts analyse various factors, such as earning potential, before selling their stocks or bonds to determine the value of the company. Banks advise the company’s management on how valuable the company is and how the organisation is likely to benefit from merger and acquisition.
2. Underwriting stocks and bonds: If an individual decides to raise capital through a sale of equity and bonds, the shares will also be underwritten by one or more investment banks. This ensures that the company purchases or re-sells a certain number of shares – or securities – at a fixed value via an auction.
3. Research: Bigger investment firms have analysts who analyse business information and decide how they are likely to benefit from selling or buying. Reports are sold to managers of mutual funds and hedge funds for capital generation.
4. Trading and sales: Various firms have a department for trading that can sell bonds or stocks as per the need of their clients.
5. Asset Management: Companies such as Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan use their asset management division to handle pension funds, insurance companies and charity accounts.
6. Wealth Management: Investment banks also provide funding options for pension and other long-term needs of individuals and families.
7. Securitized Products: Enterprises also pool financial assets these days – from loans to receivables from credit cards – or market them as fixed-income securities to shareholders. An investment bank will propose sources of income to be "secured," arrange the assets, and sell them to institutional investors.

Overview of Financial Services & Advisory Firms in India.

India is experiencing rapid expansion in terms of Economic Diversification. There is a rapid expansion in both existing financial services companies and new financial companies entering the market. Financial services include commercial banks, brokers, not-for-profit financial companies, cooperatives, pension funds, mutual funds, and more. Indian Government has implemented many reforms in order to liberalize, control, and develop the finance sector. The experts in the financial services sector provide the banking and bonds, insurance, and investment management industries with extensive integrated solutions.

Following are the advantages of Financial Services in India:

• Growing Demand: The increasing income drives financial services demand across revenue lines.
• Innovation: India benefits from a broad cross-usage of the financial services network.
• Policy Support: The Indian Government has approved new banking licenses in the insurance sectors, and is increasing FDI quotas. 
• Growing penetration: In rural areas, credit, insurance, and investment penetration are on the rise. In addition, HNWI membership has been increasing in the wealth management segments.

Advisory Firms includes several financial advisors that provide advisory services to clients across the globe. It entirely focuses on strategizing for the success and growth of a business. A financial advisor discusses different investment options: Shares, tax laws, commitments, and insurance. A business can always be benefited from expert advice so its goal is to help show strength and resolve the weakness and can make a difference in business success from its point of view. Advisory Firms provide opportunities to the financial service clients in the following areas: Quality, Operational Excellence, Growth strategy, Informational enforcement technology, Customer loyalty and feedback, Fusions and acquires Performance improvements, Private Equity, and Management change. They both work together by developing and endorsing or implementing transparent, concrete action plans in order to ensure significant and enduring improvements in performance.

An Introduction to Private Equity Firms

Private equity is a company's private ownership, unlike stock ownership. Private equity investors can buy all or part of a private or public company and usually keep their investment for about 5-10 years before selling. Typically, private equity firms look for a return of about $2.50 for every dollar invested.

Private Equity Firms are the firms that share representing an entity’s ownership or interest that is not listed or traded publicly. They raise money to provide their shareholder customers with profitable returns. The business of the enterprise requires large capital expenditure to change the minimum capital requirements for investors depending on the enterprise and the fund. Companies have the ability, ideas, and expertise to take on and strengthen the underperforming organization by enhancing the operational efficiencies that lead to higher profits and creating value by aiming to align the interests of organization management with the investors.

Functions of Private Equity Companies are:-

• Raise Capital: Capital raising companies play a role by acquiring capital obligations by limited partners and external financial institutions, such as pension and pensions funds, insurance companies, wealthy persons and funds.

• Sourcing, due diligence, and deal closing: Public equity companies will consider such things as the business sector, management, financial performance, the possible exit scenarios. Public equity companies will take into account the final terms of the deal are then negotiated and the deal is closed, funds are released and equity transactions are carried out.

• Equipment improvements: Companies offer a variety of strategic support and advice, financial management, operations, business improvement to make the final outcome profitable.

• Profit from portfolio companies: In the end, the objective of a firm is to gain profit, normally over 3-7 years following the initial investment, depending on the time of the strategic location. During exit value, costs are recognized, debt used to fund the transaction is paid down, revenue is increased over the holding period, working capital is optimized and the company is sold at a higher price.

3 Major Factors That Affects Corporate Finance of a Company

A division of finance that deals in the financing, investment decision, and capital structuring is termed as Corporate Finances. These finances comprise of the tools and analysis for the utilization and proper distribution of financial resources.

Corporate finances help gain the shareholder's maximum value for the money they had invested in the company, whose financial aspects are adequately handled by the management. It is the sole responsibility of the management to ensure that the shareholders receive the maximum return in the form of increased share prices and dividends. Nature of Corporate Finances differs from company to company and mainly depends on the area in which the company deals in.

Three factors that majorly affect the Corporate Finances of a Company are:

1. Investments and Capital Budget: It basically includes the planning of placing the long-term capital assets of the company to generate maximum returns with risk-adjusted. Investments and capital budgeting mainly comprise of opting an investment opportunity with the help of extensive financial analysis. A company with the help of investments and capital budgeting identifies capital expenditures, compares planned investments, decides the project to include in the budget, and estimates cash flows. 
2. Capital Financing: Capital financing helps make decisions on how to finance capital investment in a better way with the help of business’ equity, debt, or both. The stocks of the company can be sold or debts can be introduced in the markets with the help of investment banks to receive long-term funding for capital investments. Equity and debt must be balanced and closely managed since too much of debt can result in the increased risk of default repayment. Whereas, dependency on equity may result in dilution of earnings and value for original investors.
3. Dividends and Capital Return: This helps decide whether excess earnings in the business should be retained for future investments and operational requirements or whether it should be distributed to shareholders in the form of dividends or share buybacks. For business expansion, funds from retained earnings can be used since they are not distributed back to the shareholders. If a return rate on capital investment greater than Company’s capital cost can be earned, managers might pursue it, else, should be returned in the form of dividends or share buybacks.

Critical Aspects of Techno Economic Viability Study

Every business entity yearns to enlarge its operations and scale up. This is achieved when the present processes are optimized to its maximum monetizing capabilities and newer projects are taken up. However, what are the parameters that would be utilized to benchmark the feasibility for the project? How would an investor perhaps gain trust on investing for the same? True, the promoters' business acumen would be gauged, but what if the project is in a space of a perceived risk sector?

No project is devoid of risks. TEV Studies produces an analysis on the degree of risk in the technical and financial aspects of the project. This encompasses various other factors as well, such as:

• Product description, usage and applications. That would help us gauge the risk in terms of demand fluctuations and product sustainability.
• Prior experience, acumen and funding status of the key management personnel. This would be assisting us regarding the sustainability of the project and in turn, the risks associated with it.
• The prevailing market scenario surrounding the project in total. We would be taking into account both the national as well as international environments. This would enable us to gauge competition, external forces and limitations of the product.
• The technology that would be used for the production of the target product.
• Ease of doing business in the geographic area where the product would be catered to.

Apart from these, we would be deep diving into the technical and financial aspects, with all the relevant ratios, comparisons and perceptions. Prevailing statutory obligations, market forces and the technological ease would be assisting us regarding the feasibility of the project. These in totality would help us analyses the viability of the project.

We, at Resurgent India have successfully are impaneled with 20+ public/private sector banks as consultants, and have executed more than 250+ TEV study till date. Do write to us about your project at corporate@resurgentindia.com for the feasibility of your next strategic project.

Cheers!

Is This Going to be the Myth of “The Great Indian Loan Market” from the Perspective of Corporate Lending?

At the turn of this century, many multinational companies lost millions of dollars in Indian market because of the over-projection of this term “The great Indian middle class.” Is this history going to repeat itself in the present day loan market of India? The intensity of this question becomes even bigger when we see it from the perspective of the big investors who are seeking for corporate lending. 

Media Reports Are Shocking and Industry Pundits Are Surprised 

The result of the 2019 LS elections in India made this country a land full of corporate lending opportunities. The reason is quite simple, it is expected that the unorganized sector of the market will now start participating directly in the mainstream economy. In order to fill certain gaps, financial institutions of the country are promoting a culture of loans. In the books of corporate lending opportunities, these types of loans can act as a leveler and bring the markets into the zone of the perfect competition (Anand, 2019).  

However, the media reports are constantly raising doubts over the suitability of new loan criteria adopted by some of the disparate players in the market (Why Indian lenders are giving loans to risky customers with low credit scores, 2019).  If you are seeking to check the validity of any investment opportunity in the field of corporate lending then take the support of experts representing RESURGENT INDIA and secure your interests.