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The increasing importance of the Internet, not only for tasks related to information search, storage, and sharing, but also for connecting people and business, domestic and international trade, education, entertainment and social interactions, has led governments around the world to include Internet connectivity in their priority policy agendas and infrastructure plans. Today, access to the Internet is no longer a luxury, but is increasingly considered an essential service, as important as building transportation and utility networks. However, more than four billion people, overwhelmingly in developing countries, still lack Internet access. For the past decade, policy makers have sought ways to best create an enabling environment to direct national resources and engage the private sector to effectively expand access to the Internet. In doing so, policy makers and regulators face a unique combination of priorities, resources, market structures, and geographies that will affect their national plans. Experience shows that no one-size-fits-all approach exists, but past and current experience can be analyzed for common factors contributing to success or failure to support similar endeavors in the future. This report reviews and provides guidance on innovative business models and approaches to the deployment of high-speed broadband networks and highlights global trends related to terrestrial spectrum resources that can be leveraged to meet expected future demand and close existing Internet access gaps. It is intended to serve as a reference tool to help policy makers and regulators assess alternatives for infrastructure deployment and adopt decisions tailored to their country's circumstances and needs.

Digital divide --- ICT economics --- Information and communication technologies --- Information technology --- Infrastructure economics --- Infrastructure economics and finance --- Infrastructure finance --- Telecommunications

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Vietnam stands out as one of the most dynamic emerging countries in the East Asia and Pacific region. Since major reforms in the 1990s, the country has experienced an annual average growth rate of 6-7 percent, and extreme poverty rate has fallen from over 50 percent to 3 percent. Yet, the rapid growth and decentralization process have brought significant pressure on provincial governments in terms of local infrastructure investments and urban services delivery. With an annual shortfall of US$9 billion in funding for local infrastructure investments, provincial governments in Vietnam need to move toward a more market-driven financing model. This transition will require enhanced financial and technical capacity of local governments as well as an enabling environment for subnational borrowing. This report explores the development of a pilot financial instrument that could catalyze the subnational borrowing market in Vietnam. The report presents the findings of three assessments, which focused on (a) the borrowing capacity and creditworthiness of selected provincial governments, (b) the capacity of the commercial banking sector to invest in provincial governments, and (c) the current status of Vietnam's regulatory framework. The findings of this report will be useful to policy makers in Vietnam, providing an understanding of the key issues associated with a shift toward a more affordable and efficient local infrastructure financing model and presenting a preliminary roadmap for development of a pilot instrument. The report will also be of interest to policy makers in other transition countries that are facing similar challenges.

Borrowing --- Credit Enhancement --- Demand Side Analysis --- Financial Intermediary --- Local Government --- Municipal Development Fund --- Municipal Infrastructure Finance --- Regulatory Framework --- Subnational Borrowing --- Subnational Debt --- Supply Side Analysis --- Wholesale Facility

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China's "Belt and Road Initiative" (BRI) includes major infrastructure investment projects - roads, ports, railways - that aim to improve connectivity along a number of transport corridors spanning 71 countries. In this paper we find that notwithstanding the large scale of the initiative, relatively little systematic data exists on the practices being followed by the different, primarily Chinese, entities that finance BRI-related contracts and how firms are being selected to execute projects. The limited available data however indicate that Chinese companies account for the majority of BRI-procurement, even in light of their high share of total infrastructure projects in developing countries. We discuss the limited publicly available evidence on the procurement of BRI projects and specific dimensions of the institutional features pertaining to public procurement regimes of BRI countries, including China, both as embedded in domestic regulations and in international agreements that countries may be part of. Finally, we discuss the efforts that BRI countries can take -individually or as part of an international agreement- to improve procurement practices for BRI projects.

Infrastructure economics and finance --- Infrastructure finance --- Infrastructure investment --- Infrastructure regulation --- Ports --- Public sector development --- Roads --- Roads and highways --- Trade policy --- Transport

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The high-level Investor Forum will take place on November 29, 2018, in Buenos Aires, hosted by the President of Argentina, this year's chair of the G20, and co-organized with the World Bank Group. The Forum will bring together leaders from the public sector and the global investment communityto explore how their combined power could contribute to sustained global economic growth andincrease the flow of long-term sustainable investments to where they are needed most. It is hopedthat the Forum will build strong momentum to support collaboration to address areas of shared interest, concern, and opportunity. As part of preparing for the Forum, the World Bank Group (WBG) conducted semi-structured interviews with senior executives-mostly chief executive officers and chief investment officers-in 34 global institutional investors, soliciting their views on the current operational and investment environment; strategic priorities going forward; and actionsrequired to scale up investments in sustainable, long-term projects, particularly investments in infrastructure. The major topics covered were (i) current perceptions regarding today's economic and investment environments; (ii) mega-trends shaping existing and future investment strategies; (iii) sustainable investing along a number of dimensions; (iv) infrastructure investing; (v) investing in emerging markets; (vi) the potential role of the WBG and, by extension,other international financial institutions (IFIs); and (vii) their guidance on how to make the Forum a success. Given the geographic diversity, number, and level of seniority of the interviewed executives, we believe that these inputs can be considered a good reflection of views widely held by the global investment community. A key finding from the interviews was the significant degree of consensus among global investors on what were the principal concerns, opportunities, and actions needed.

Corporate governance --- Finance and financial sector development --- Governance --- Infrastructure economics and finance --- Infrastructure finance --- Infrastructure investment --- International financial markets --- International governmental organizations --- Investment climate --- Macroeconomics and economic growth

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The 2017 Unbreakable report made the case that disaster losses disproportionately affect poor people. The Caribbean hurricane season of 2017 was a tragic illustration of this. Two category 5 hurricanes wreaked destruction on numerous small islands, causing severe damages on islands like Barbuda, Dominica, and Saint Martin. The human cost of these disasters was immense, and the impact of this devastation was felt most strongly by poorer communities in the path of the storms. And yet, amidst the destruction it is essential to look forward and to build back better. In this 2018 report the authors explore how countries can strengthen their resilience to natural shocks through a better reconstruction process. Reconstruction needs to be strong, so that assets and livelihoods become less vulnerable to future shocks; fast, so that people can get back to their normal life as early as possible; and inclusive, so that nobody is left behind in the recovery process. The benefits of building back better could be very large - up to USD 173 billion per year globally - and would be greatest among the communities and countries that are hit by disasters most intensely and frequently and that have limited coverage of social protection and financial inclusion. Small island states - because of their size, exposure, and vulnerability - are among the countries where building back better has the greatest potential. A stronger, faster, and more inclusive recovery would lead to an average reduction in disaster-related well-being losses of 59 percent in the 17 small island states covered in the report.

Climate Change --- Climate Change and Environment --- Climate Change Impacts --- Environment --- Housing --- Infrastructure --- Infrastructure Economics and Finance --- Infrastructure Finance --- Natural Disasters --- Poverty Reduction --- Social Protections and Labor --- Social Safety Nets --- Transport