SWFs tipped for greater financing role

Sovereign wealth funds and multinationals from the developing world will in future take the place of the western banking sector in financing and paying for major construction projects, according to consultant Turner & Townsend.

Vince Clancy, chief executive, cited clients Bharti Airtel, the Indian mobile operator, and Qatari Diar, the sovereign wealth fund-owned property company behind the Shard at London Bridge, as emblematic of the trend.

In preliminary results to be released on Fridya, the private construction consultancy will say that a third of its global revenue growth has come from Africa, Asia and the Middle East.