Title: PSEG Overview
1- 12th Annual Latin American Energy Conference
- San Diego, California
- May 19th, 2003
Liquidity, Restructuring And the
Current Investment Appetite
- Presented by
- Michael J. Thomson
- President CEO
- PSEG Global Inc.
2Background / Situation
- Globalization accelerated rapidly in the 1990s
- The electric sector was seen as a prime
globalization candidate and an enabler of the
shift to market-driven economies - Many OECD companies, with lower growth prospects
in their home markets, saw an opportunity to
create economic value for their shareholders by
deploying capital and know-how to acquire or
build, and then operate, energy infrastructure
assets in rapidly growing emerging markets
The turmoil of the past fifteen months has caused
many companies to investigate this premise
3The shift from state-run economies to market
economies accelerated rapidly in the mid to late
1990s.
Liberalization The Transition to Market Economies
- Means
- Removal of tariffs, and other barriers to open
markets for trade and investment - Deregulation of industries
- Privatization of key industries
- Creation of appropriate institutions and legal
structures to ensure market-based operations
- Expected Results
- More competitive and efficient industries
- Increased trade in goods and services
- Increased cross-border capital flows
- Higher rates of economic growth, wealth creation
- Increased knowledge transfer
Liberalization and globalization were expected to
bring enormous societal benefits.
4The electricity sector was seen as both a prime
candidate for and an enabler of the shift to
market-driven economies.
Electricity Deregulation and Privatization
- Basic Elements
- Removal of barriers to private sector
participation - Privatization of government-run companies
- Deregulation
- Creation of legislative and regulatory framework
with independent regulatory function - Transparent rate setting free from politics and
non-market forces
- Rationale
- Creates greater efficiency through market
discipline - Restores financial health to sector
- Reduces governments role in the economy
- Raises revenue for the state
- Provides new source of capital to ensure supply
of reliable, reasonably-priced energy for growing
economies
Multilateral agencies played an important role in
encouraging this trend.
5Despite high expectations and investment,
liberalization / globalization has produced
significant disappointments
Disappointments of Liberalization / Globalization
- Economic growth remains overly dependent on the
US market 64 of total world economic growth
1995-2002 - Sustained GDP growth and realization of the
promises of globalization in emerging markets
have remained elusive economic recessions and
declining FX values have left a surfeit of
over-indebted developing countries - Often privatization became the only effective
method of raising capital at favorable terms.
Reforms stalled after privatization funds were
collected - Increased capital flows increased volatility,
putting enormous pressure on governments and
economies that did not put their fiscal positions
in order - Often, benefits of liberalization tended to flow
to the elite classes and further increased wealth
concentration benefits to the poor, while real,
were much harder to discern - Wars and terrorism have created new uncertainties
and reforms are on a significantly slower track
today.
6For the electric sector, rapid deregulation
privatization created conflicts, especially as
economic turmoil hit many countries.
- Situation
- The electricity sector is / was a
government-owned service in most parts of the
world, unlike the United States - Considered necessary for the public good
- Not profit-driven and chronically under-funded
- Pricing determined politically, often subsidized
- Independent regulatory frameworks, policies, and
safeguards largely non-existent
- Transitional Conflicts
- Difficulties with contract enforcement or in
properly raising or restructuring tariffs - Phasing out of subsidies
- Designing equitable tariff
- Incomplete reforms of regulatory and legal
frameworks, including independence and
transparency - Failure to anticipate sometimes strong, opposing
vested interest - Poor visibility in addressing social hardships
- Inability to eliminate the considerable scope for
political patronage and corruption - Poorly implemented national macroeconomic
policies
7Compounding the situation, the electricity sector
has characteristics that create limitations
compared to other global businesses
- Characteristics
- Assets are capital intensive, stationary, unable
to be moved to a better location - Assets are very long-lived (30 to 50 years)
- Electricity generally cannot be exported it is
produced and consumed in-country - Payment for service is in local currency
- Effects
- Investment largely becomes captive in the
country - Investments require a long time horizon for full
recovery - Exit strategies are limited
- Local currency fluctuations (declines) dampen
financial performance
challenging the fit of electricity with the
liberalization / globalization wave.
8Electric Sector Lessons Learned
- A number of issues must be addressed if electric
sector liberalization and privatization is to be
considered sucessful for existing investments,
e.g., system /tariff design issues, phasing out
of subsidies, strength of industry participant
credit, and corruption - Prospectively, due to the characteristics of the
electric business -- system design, regulations,
etc., should be reasonably and thoroughly dealt
with prior to the sale of property or new
investment in capacity - In the future, a deeper understanding of the
maturity of key institutions will clearly change
the terms and return expectations on which
private capital enters the electric sector - One bright line test for the electric business
may have to be the existence of local sources of
capital in local currency (bank debt, bonds,
equity) for investment in the sector - Reflects the maturity of key institutions
- Reflects the cost of money in the local economy
for the industry - Allows investors to manage risks more effectively
- However, this test would also significantly
reduce the number of target markets
9The resulting disappointing performance and
market volatility have caused companies to
rethink their strategies.
- Competitor Reactions
- In response to rapid changes in the business
environment, existing players quickly shifted
focus from growth to cost reductions, portfolio
realignment including asset sales and
abandonment, and survival strategies - Some players have announced a complete exit from
the international arena - New entrants are identifying opportunities to
capitalize on others setbacks and readying to
buy assets at distressed prices to create a new,
lower-cost structure.
10Where to from here
- Liberalization / Globalization will likely
continue but more slowly and with rough spots
along the way. - For the electric sector to attract FDI, serious
issues need to be addressed including tariff
design, access to local capital, contract
sanctity, independent and fair judiciary
procedures. - Emerging economies remain the primary source of
growth markets, but incomplete and inadequate
reforms create risk and uncertainty for
investors. - Taking into account the lessons learned, the
population of attractive target markets shrinks
significantly. - The industry is wiser
- Financial expectations will realign with economic
reality - Capital will be more skeptical of promises of
future change and good behavior
11Where to invest?
Market Fundamentals
- Privatization Process
- Market based
- Well defined with a schedule
- Transparent rules
- Political will and consensus
- Energy Sector
- Competition in the fuels market and transparent
pricing - Independent and competitive wholesale market
- Sufficient infrastructure fuel, transmission
and transportation - Electric Sector
- A track record (not a story) on reforms with
clear, stable and concise rules for governing - Credible regulatory process
- Ability to secure long-term bilateral contracts
- Sustainable pricing structure
12Where to invest?
Institutional Support
- A political system and leadership that supports
change - A transparent local legal system or equivalent
remedies
- Policy formulation and execution that targets
diversity in the economy and open markets - Responsible national macroeconomic policies
- Stable financial and banking system
- Workable tax structures, treaties incentives
- Existing and/or growing access to local capital
in local currency
13Summary
- Liberalization / Privatization / Globalization
were on an unrealistic timetable, given the
degree of change required - Free markets are easy to declare, but difficult
to implement - Without reasonably developed and tested
institutional safeguards quality of
policy-making coherent laws and the enforcement
of contracts competent, impartial courts
independent regulators and control over
corruption privatization will continue to be
problematic for foreign investors - This is becoming the big divide in the world
economy - Economies were often liberalized without fully
accounting for societal, political, and
historical concerns - Good technical blueprint, but lacked local
consensus and was frequently too much too soon - As a result, the backlash was underestimated,
causing governments to back away from
market-oriented policies to more populist agendas - Rapid changes to traditional business practices,
social structures, and cultural mores creates
challenges - Disproportionate benefits creates class-based
anger in the weaker economies - Nonetheless, liberalization / globalization will
likely continue but more slowly and with many
stops and starts along the way - Roots will take longer to develop country by
country due to economic cycles, the challenges of
change, opposition groups, and periodic setbacks - A process that can easily take a generation for
some countries
14Outlook
For the electric sector, long term investors will
no longer put money into stories and market
economy blueprints. A reasonable track record
on reforms, competitive return expectations, and
some access to local capital will be important
leading indicators. This will mark the great
divide in the allocation of FDI in the electric
sector.