Univ., Diss.--Frankfurt/Main, 2004. / Literaturangaben.

Thesis (doctoral)--Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (MDF (Development Finance))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Infrastructure has been hailed as a fundamental link between markets and other development sectors of the economy. For over a long time the delivery of infrastructure in Africa has been the domain of the public sector. However, because of the continued budgetary constraints, most governments are seeking the support of the private sector in the delivery of infrastructure. Recent studies have, however, revealed that private participation in infrastructure delivery is very low in Africa. The research noted that certain obstacles at macro level of the economy are responsible for the low private participation in infrastructure delivery. It is, therefore, important that we assess the methodologies that have been used to attract private sector participation in infrastructure delivery in Africa. One method that is gaining popularity in the developing world is the use of project finance. The research study sought to achieve two objectives. The first was to discover whether governance played a significant role in attracting foreign lenders to use project finance in the delivery of infrastructure in Africa. The second objective was to find out, given that governance does matter, which of the governance indicators were important and what their relationship was with loan syndication. The study adopted a quantitative approach using six governance indicators as independent variables. The governance indicators are compiled by a team at the World Bank and these governance indicators are available on the World Bank database. Loan tranches were used as observations for the dependent variable with the data for the tranches originating from loans that were advanced under project finance across Africa covering the period between 1996 and 2006. The multiple regression model also incorporated certain control variables the data for which were collected from various sources. Findings from the research study revealed that governance does matter and is positively related to loan syndication in project finance structures. It was revealed that all six governance indicators exerted a positive influence on loan syndication. The results also revealed that political instability and violence, and control of corruption were statistically insignificant. In addition it was found that rule of law exerted the most positive influence on the composition of loan syndication in project finance structures. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Infrastruktuur is al aangeprys as ‘n fundamentele skakel tussen markte en ander ontwikkelingsektore in die ekonomie. Die voorsiening van infrastruktuur in Afrika figureer lank reeds in die openbare sektor, maar as gevolg van die volgehoue begrotingsbeperkinge soek die meeste owerhede die steun van die privaatsektor wat betref die voorsiening van infrastruktuur. Onlangse studies het egter bevind dat private deelname in die aflewering van infrastuktuur in Afrika baie laag is. Die navorsing het aan die lig gebring dat daar sekere struikelblokke op die makrovlak van die ekonomie is wat verantwoordelik is vir die geringe privaat deelname in die voorsiening van infrastruktuur. Derhalwe is dit belangrik om die metodologieë wat gebruik is om privaatsektordeelname ten opsigte van infrastruktuurvoorsiening in Afrika te beoordeel. Een metode wat gewild raak in die Derde Wêreld, is die gebruik van projekfinansiering. Hierdie navorsingstudie probeer om twee doelwitte te bereik. Die eerste doelwit is om uit te vind of staatsbestuur ‘n betekenisvolle rol speel om buitelandse kredietverskaffers te lok om projekfinansiering vir infrastruktuuraflewering in Afrika te gebruik. Die tweede doelwit is om, gegewe staatsbestuur se belangrikheid, te bepaal watter van die staatsbestuuraanwysers belangrik is en wat hul verband met leningsindikasie is. Die studie het ‘n kwantitatiewe benadering gevolg en het ses staatsbestuuraanwysers gebruik as onafhanklike veranderlikes. Die staatsbestuuraanwyser is deur ‘n span van die Wêreldbank opgestel en die staatsbestuuraanwyswers is beskikbaar op die Wêreldbank se databasis. Leningdeel is gebruik as waarnemings vir die afhanklike veranderlike, en die data vir die leningdeel is afkomstig van lenings wat toegestaan is onder projekfinansiering dwarsoor Afrika vir die periode 1996 tot 2006. Die meervoudigeregressiemodel het ook sekere kontroleveranderlikes behels, en die data daarvoor is vanuit verskeie bronne ingewin. Die navorsingstudiebevindinge het aan die lig gebring dat staatsbestuur ter sake is en positief aansluit by die leningsindikasie in projekfinansieringstrukture. Dit het aan die lig gekom dat al ses staatsregeringsaanwysers ‘n positiewe invloed op leningsindikasie uitoefen. Die bevindinge het ook daarop gedui dat politieke onstabiliteit en geweld, en korrupsiebeheer statisties onbeduidend is. Daar is ook bevind dat die oppergesag van die reg die mees positiewe invloed op die samestelling van leningsindikasie in projekfinansieringstruksture uitoefen.

Hydrogen (H2) represents an energy carrier endowed with the potential to contribute to the design of a robust and reliable global energy system by complementing electricity as well as liquid fuels use in an environmentally responsible manner provided that the pertinent H2 production technologies (conventional and new ones) can reach techno-economically attractive performance levels in the presence of irreducible (macroeconomic, fuel market, regulatory) uncertainty. Indeed, the role of H2 in the global energy economy is widely recognized as significant in light also of fast-growing demand in the petrochemical and chemical processing sector as well as future regulatory action on greenhouse gas emissions. Pd and Pd/Alloy-based catalytic membrane reactor (CMR) modules potentially integrated into H2 production (HP-CMR) process systems offer a promising technical pathway towards H2 production with enhanced environmental performance in a carbon-constrained world. However, the lack of accumulated operating experience for HP-CMR plants on the commercial scale poses significant challenges. Therefore, any preliminary attempt to assess their economic viability is certainly justified. A comprehensive techno-economic performance assessment framework has been developed for HP-CMRs with CO2 capture capabilities. A functional Net Present Value (NPV) model has been developed first to evaluate the economic viability of HP-CMRs. The plant/project value of HP-CMR is compared to other competing technology options such as traditional coal-gasification and methane steam reforming-based hydrogen production plants with and without CO2 capture. Sources of irreducible uncertainty (market and regulatory) as well as technology risks are explicitly recognized and the effect of these uncertainty drivers on the plant’s/project’s value is taken into account using Monte-Carlo techniques. Therefore, more realistic distribution profiles of the plant’s economic performance outcomes are generated rather than single-point value estimates. It is shown that future regulatory action on CO2 emissions could induce appealing NPV-distribution profiles for HP-CMRs in the presence of uncertainty and technology risks. Finally, the valuation assessment is complemented with a sensitivity analysis for different representative values of the discount rate that span a reasonable range associated with business and financing risks. It apparently indicates that creatively structured financing mechanisms leading to a reduction of the cost of capital/discount rate could induce more appealing economic performance outcomes and valuation profiles. Furthermore, the proposed research work aims at the development of a methodological framework to assess the economic value of flexible alternatives in the design and operation of HP-CMR plants with carbon capture capabilities under the aforementioned sources of uncertainty. The main objective is to demonstrate the potential value enhancement associated with the long-term economic performance of flexible HP-CMR project investments by managing the uncertainty associated with future environmental regulations. Within the proposed context, promising design flexibility concepts for HP-CMR plants are introduced and operational as well as constructional flexibility options are identified and assessed. In particular, operational flexibility will be realized through periodic and temporary shutdowns of the carbon capture unit in response to regulatory uncertainties. Constructional flexibility will be realized by considering the installation of a carbon capture unit at three strategic periods: 1) installation in the initial design phase, 2) retrofitting at a later stage and 3) retrofitting with preinvestment. Monte Carlo simulations and financial analysis will be conducted in order to demonstrate that, in the presence of irreducible uncertainty, design flexibility options could lead to economic performance enhancement of HP-CMR plants by actively responding to the above sources of uncertainty as they get resolved over the plant’s lifetime.

Betrügerisches Verhalten bei geschlossenen Fonds ist in Deutschland Statistiken zufolge für jährliche Kapitalverluste im mittleren dreistelligen Millionenbereich verantwortlich. Der Gesetzgeber hat sich in der Vergangenheit wiederholt dem Problem angenommen und eine Vielzahl von zivil-, straf- und öffentlich-rechtlichen Maßnahmen zur Verbesserung des Anlegerschutzes auf den Weg gebracht, die mit dem Inkrafttreten des Kapitalanlagegesetzbuchs (KAGB) im Jahr 2013 ihren bisherigen Höhepunkt erreicht haben. Die Zweckdienlichkeit dieser Maßnahmen wird von Kritikern indes bezweifelt, darüber hinaus scheint sich in jüngerer Zeit ein neuartiges Phänomen des „sanktionslosen Betrugs“ auf dem Kapitalmarkt zu etablieren, bei dem es den Tätern gelingt entweder ohne, oder ohne nennenswerte Sanktionen – insbesondere in strafrechtlicher Hinsicht – davonzukommen. Als Beispiele seien hier die Debi Select Fonds aus Landshut sowie die POC-Fonds aus Berlin genannt, bei denen die im Hintergrund agierenden „Strippenzieher“ trotz millionenschwerer Anlegerschädigung weder in zivil- noch in strafrechtlicher Hinsicht zur Rechenschaft gezogen werden konnten. Die vorliegende Arbeit widmet sich der systematischen Erkundung dieses Phänomens, indem sie die Themenkomplexe „(sanktionslose) betrügerische geschlossene Fonds“ und „Anlegerschutz“ aus ökonomischer und rechtlicher Perspektive theoretisch analysiert und hieraus Verbesserungsvorschläge ableitet, die anschließend durch eine explorativ-empirische Expertenbefragung abgesichert und ergänzt werden. Konkret beantwortet die Arbeit folgende zentrale Forschungsfrage: „Was ist betrügerisches Verhalten bei geschlossenen Fonds und warum ist dies zum Teil sanktionslos?“ sowie vier ergänzende Forschungsfragen: (1) „Wie sieht die Anatomie betrügerischer geschlossener Fonds aus?“ (2) „Was sind die Ursachen und Anreizstrukturen, die betrügerisches Verhalten bei geschlossenen Fonds begünstigen?“ (3) „Welche Maßnahmen eignen sich zur Abwehr bzw. zur Eindämmung des betrügerischen Verhaltens bei geschlossenen Fonds?“ (4) „Bieten die zivil-, straf- und öffentlich-rechtlichen Maßnahmen des Gesetzgebers, insbesondere das KAGB einen ausreichenden Schutz vor betrügerischen geschlossenen Fonds?“ / Fraudulent behavior in closed-end funds is, according to statistics, responsible for annual capital losses in the mid-triple-digit millions. Legislators have repeatedly addressed the problem in the past and initiated a large number of civil, criminal and public-law measures to improve investor protection, which reached their peak in 2013 with the entry into force of the so-called “Kapitalanlagegesetzbuch” (KAGB). The usefulness of these measures are doubted by critics, moreover it appears that a new phenomenon of 'unsanctioned fraud' on the capital market appears to be established recently, where the perpetrators succeed either without or without significant sanctions, especially in criminal matters. Examples include the Debi Select funds from Landshut and the POC funds from Berlin, in which the 'stripping pullers' operating in the background could be held accountable neither in civil nor in criminal law despite millions in damage to investors. The present work is devoted to the systematic investigation of this phenomenon by theoretically analyzing the topics '(non-sanctioned) fraudulent closed-end funds' and 'investor protection' from an economic and legal perspective and deriving recommendations for improvement, which are then confirmed and supplemented by an explorative-empirical expert survey become. Specifically, the paper answers the following central research question: 'What is fraudulent behavior in closed-end funds and why is this partially sanctionless?' And four complementary research questions: (1) 'What is the anatomy of fraudulent closed-end funds?' (2) 'What are the causes and incentive structures that favor fraudulent behavior in closed-end funds? (3)'What measures are appropriate for the prevention or the containment of fraudulent behavior in closed-end funds?' (4) 'Do civil, criminal and public legislative measures, in particular the KAGB, provide sufficient protection against fraudulent closed-end funds?'