The term 'project finance' is now being used in almost every language in every part of the world. Understanding the nature of project finance and how it differs from other financing techniques is critical to all the major players in large capital projects, such as governments, ministries of finance, commercial bankers, investment bankers, suppliers and customers. This book will help you understand this rapidly expanding field. While project finance has its origins in the natural resource and infrastructure sectors, the current ideological trend of dismantling the state and transferring public services to privately owned entities is resulting in a bonanza to acquire these lucrative public service franchises in the power, telecommunications, and transportation sectors, as well as impose this agenda onto government owned entities in developed and developing countries. Project Finance techniques provide the means to impose this ideological agenda. An Introduction to Project Finance explains how to: * identify the various players in a project finance transaction, their objectives, and how to identify their roles in the project * identify the legal, operational and financial risks presented by the project * build cash flow statements from historical statements or project projections * identify key variables impacting financial performance so that they can be subjected to sensitivity analysis * run sensitivity analyses to evaluate the cash flow and debt servicing ability of a company or project, and identify potential areas of concern * optimally configure long term debt facilities so that they are aligned with the company or project's cash flow and debt servicing capabilities * evaluate different methods of project evaluation * recognize the limitations of accounting information in valuing companies * use other methods to evaluate the creditworthiness of a project.