By Claire Milhench
LONDON (Reuters) - Debt issuance in the global project finance market rose 6.3 percent last year but the level is unlikely to be surpassed anytime soon because of the crisis in credit markets, Thomson Reuters data showed.
Project finance -- expenditure for major financing deals in the energy, transport and social infrastructure sectors -- hit $262.3 billion with Royal Bank of Scotland
"Given the state of the global credit markets and the global economy, it is likely the 2008 figure will not be surpassed for some time and deal flow will slow," Thomson Reuters said.
The data is compiled from banks and financial advisors and checked by Project Financial International and Thomson Financial Securities Data.
Bond volumes totaled just $11.9 billion in 2008, compared with $26.5 billion in 2007, with Deutsche Bank topping the issuance table, up from a second position in 2007 and ahead of Lloyds TSB
Mike Chappell, head of project finance at Lloyds TSB Corporate Markets, attributed the bank's leap into second place to Exeter Blue CLO, a 1 billion euro ($1.33 billion) synthetic securitization of project finance and infrastructure loans.
The CLO consisted of a mix of public private partnerships and private finance initiative projects, including toll roads and hospitals, which Lloyds TSB had arranged.
LOAN LEADERS
Global loan volumes were $250.5 billion in 2008, up from $220 billion, with Royal Bank of Scotland, second in 2007, pushing last year's top bank BNP Paribas
The main growth in the loans market in 2008 came from Asia Pacific, with volumes up almost 60 percent to $70.4 billion. Australia, India and Singapore all did well.
Perhaps not surprisingly given the infrastructure demands in this region, power deals were the leading sector, followed by transportation, with leisure and property third.
The Americas loans market was down slightly to $42 billion from $44.5 billion. Brazil and Chile led the way in Latin America, with the Sao Paulo subway line, a Petrobras platform and hydroelectric projects amongst the high profile deals.
The Europe Middle East & Africa market was slightly busier at $138 billion, compared with $130.7 billion in 2007. Spain and the UK remained the busiest, although volumes dropped in the UK private finance initiative sector.
(Editing by David Cowell)
