Introduction

 This Guide has been designed to serve as a practical guide for EU and Japanese private sector entities seeking the appropriate financial resources for their business activities, including market surveys; economic, industrial and commercial surveys; legal framework reviews; environmental, society and governance assessments; all leading to the materialization of investment into the target regions and sectors under the EU-Japan Connectivity Partnership program. The contents have been collected from the publicly available sources of each institution, current as of the time of drafting of this Guide, and will be revised from time to time.

Executive Summary

 This Guide was prepared to be a practical guide for private sector companies who are seeking the appropriate financial resources for their business activities, in line with business development as a part of the EU-Japan Connectivity Partnership program.

 Project preparation starts from a market survey; economic, industrial and commercial environment surveys; a legal framework review; and environmental, society and governance assessment. The project then enters the materialization of investment. Private sector companies in the EU, as well as those in Japan, have been making their own efforts to expand their markets in developing countries such as the Indo-Pacific area, Africa and other regions. Both Large and Global Enterprises (LEs) and Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are the key players in promoting and running businesses considering the huge gap of infrastructure needs as well as other major economic and social developments. This will be accomplished not only by public sector ODA projects but by the participation of the private sector.

 Both the EU and Japan have well-established policies and strategies based on well-developed technology. They extensively support the private sector, but the financial resources available for EU and Japanese companies have not been shared well with both. Therefore, and with a view to support private sector business development, this Financial Resources Guide for Private Sector was drafted.

 This Guide is intended to provide information depending on the development stage of projects initiated by the private sector.

 Stage One (Project Preparation) Is defined as the initial stage of a project, as a private sector company wants to develop new markets defined as its target regions, or target sectors. This starts with a preparatory review and survey, but to ignite the project, preparation may often require financial assistance from the public sector and/or development agencies (Chapter 1).

 Stage Two (Equity Investment) is the period in which private sector companies apply for financial support through investment. Financial support for equity investment may vary by case, but financial assistance menu from the EU, Japan and international development agencies is available (Chapter 2).

 Stage Three (Long-term Loan) is the period for business expansion and development. Companies will require long-term loans. The major activities at this stage are to secure working and equipment capital funding. Again, a wide variety of loan programs are offered by the EU as well as its member states, Japan and MDBs (Chapter 3).

The EU Japan Connectivity Partnership program facilitates not only public sector but also private sector projects. Among the financial resources available for the private sector, primary financial institutions in the EU and Japan, including EIB, EBRD, JICA and JBIC, offer a wide range of products and services, mainly covering the private sectors in EU member states and Japan. In addition to primary financial institutions, strong support is available from EU and Japanese government agencies. In the case of the latter, sector-specific support is available from organizations including IFC, ADB and AfDB, which provide support to the private sector as well. The Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project in infrastructure is also available when public funds are not sufficient to fill the demand gap. Private sector companies and financial institutions are expected to join more actively. To this end, both the EU and Japan offer dedicated programs to encourage the private sector to participate in new markets from the preparation stage. Chapters 4-7 introduce the financial assistance available from each agency.

Transport, Energy, DX and People-to-People are the sectors identified by the EU Japan Connectivity Partnership. Sector-specific funding resources available, particularly for designed projects, are explained in Chapter 8. Region-specific funding resources—for the Indo-Pacific region, Africa, the Western Balkans, the European Partnership Countries, and Central Asia—are the five regions covered by the EU Japan Connectivity Partnership, and is covered in Chapter 9. Possible collaboration patterns are explained in Chapter 10. These patterns take possible financial support into consideration. The Guide presents possible collaboration types in which both EU and Japanese partners can participate.