PhD Research Scholarships at NTU Singapore
From: Cheah Yuen Jen (Dr)
Sent: Thursday, November 30, 2006 1:31 PM
Dear Colleagues,
Two PhD scholarship positions are available at the Nanyang Technological
University, Singapore to conduct research related to risk management and
application of financial engineering concepts to PPP/BOT schemes. For this,
I seek your help to disseminate the information to interested applicants. To
ensure synergy in research, there are currently a few students working on
other topics related to PPP/BOT initiatives and the successful applicant
will have a chance to interact and share ideas in a research group.
Some general information has been summarized below, but the details are
given in the attached documents for the two respective topics.
Research Topic 1 - Application of Financial Engineering to Infrastructure
Project Investments:
Financial engineering plays an important role in modern risk and investment
management. In the context of infrastructure investments, the application of
financial engineering principles is not unprecedented and has been
instrumental to the securitization of debt and equity holdings in
infrastructure projects/assets. The principles however may be extended
beyond such applications and coupled with other areas of risk management.
For example, since each major infrastructure project originates from a
different geographical regime and is associated with a different set of
market and unique risks, financial evaluation and pricing of risk exposure
of infrastructure projects may be explored and structured at the "pool"
level rather than a single project level. The scope of this research would
include the study of securitization and risk management practices in other
sectors such as real estate and explore how it could be applied to the
context of large-scale infrastructure project investments worldwide.
Research Topic 2 - Political, Legal, and Regulatory Risks in Public-Private
Partnerships:
Infrastructure projects are exposed to numerous risks during the project
life cycle of up to 30 years. In particular, recent international
developments show the increasing exposure of infrastructure projects
to political, legal, and regulatory risks (PLRR). Project sponsors, lenders,
and insurers need to assess these risks for setting aside contingency
budgets, detect changes in the credit quality, valuate insurances, and
design hedging strategies. Due to the large scale of PPPs, PPPs may involve
many parties from local to an international lender and investor structure
and multi-national project companies. Political, legal and regulatory risks
(PLRR) affect the financial structure of such PPPs. Objectives of this
research may include: (1) identifying and quantifying the PLRR; (2) mapping
the effect of PLRR on PPP contracts; (3) determining the trigger structure
for PLRR; (4) developing a tool for mitigating the PLRR; (5) assessing the
effect of PLR on the bankability and viability of PPPs.
Close collaboration with market and industry participants is expected. A
strong quantitative focus with supporting qualitative methods is desired.
Research Scholarships:
The successful applicants will be sponsored under the NTU research
scholarship scheme. Based on current terms and conditions, the scholarship
provides a monthly allowance of Singapore Dollar 1,400~1,500 (up to 3 years)
plus exemption from tuition/research fees. A further top-up to the stipend
amount may possibly be given by the Centre for Infrastructure Systems of the
school.
Application:
August 2007 Intake: Information, admission requirements and guidelines for
online application are available at: http://www.ntu.
<http://www.ntu.edu.sg/GradStudies/Research+Programmes/Admission/>
edu.sg/GradStudies/Research+Programmes/Admission/ .
Applicants can submit online application first, and then provide all
relevant documents and test scores as soon as possible. Note that the
deadline of application for the August 2007 intake is 28 February 2007.
Preferred candidates should show professional or research experience related
to PPP/BOT projects and possess good academic results in their Bachelor and
Master degrees.
Contact:
Please contact the respective supervisors of the above topics as indicated
in the documents attached. Interested candidates are encouraged to submit to
the supervisors their CVs and a brief write-up on their intended approach to
the research topics prior to online application.
Thank you and kind regards,
Charles Y.J. Cheah, PhD, CFA
Assistant Professor,
Division of Infrastructure Systems and Maritime Studies,
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering,
N1-1b-35, Nanyang Technological Univeristy,
50 Nanyang Avenue, Singapore 639798.
Tel: (65) - 6790 5267 Fax: (65) - 6791 0676
