Government support and risk‐return trade‐off in China's BOT power projects

Government support plays an important part in risk‐return trade‐off of participants in privately financed infrastructure projects. Depending on the level of government support, risk‐return trade‐off of the private sponsor varies from project to project. Case studies on two of China's build‐operate‐transfer (BOT) power projects that were developed at different time periods illustrate that government support has a significant effect on both risk and return of the private sponsor. It is hoped that such understanding would help the private sponsor strike a desirable risk‐return trade‐off in structuring a BOT deal.