Drivers and sensitivities
01 / DRIVERS- Large infrastructure gaps in emerging markets
- Regional trade integration and corridor projects
- Public-private partnership programmes
- Port and logistics modernisation
- Interest rates and long-term funding costs
- Trade volumes and container throughput
- Inflation linkage in concession tariffs
- Fiscal capacity of the grantor
Editorial summary. Qualitative drivers are general industry context written by Invest Global, last reviewed 2026-10-08. They are not forecasts. Figures elsewhere on this page are sourced and dated.
Key risks
02 / RISKS- Traffic and demand forecasting error
- Contract renegotiation and tariff caps
- Construction delay and cost overrun
- Currency mismatch between revenue and debt
- Political change affecting concessions
Investing in frontier and emerging markets carries significant risk, including total loss. This list is illustrative and not exhaustive.
Value chain
03 / STAGES- Project preparation and structuring
- Financing and procurement
- Construction
- Operation and maintenance
- Freight, forwarding and logistics services
Top exposed countries
04 / 190 SCOREDRanked by exposure score, a weighted percentile of sourced indicators. Select Sources on any row to see each input, its period, source and as-of date.
| # | Country | Score | Band | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 |  Chad | 91 | High | 13.4% of the population has electricity access; the Logistics Performance Index is 2.4 out of 5 (2018, 2024). |
| 02 |  Ethiopia | 90 | High | The Logistics Performance Index is 2.4 out of 5; 56.6% of the population has electricity access (2016, 2024). |
| 03 |  Central African Republic | 86 | High | 18.2% of the population has electricity access; the Logistics Performance Index is 2.5 out of 5 (2022, 2024). |
| 04 |  Niger | 86 | High | The Logistics Performance Index is 2.1 out of 5; 21.3% of the population has electricity access (2018, 2024). |
| 05 |  Burkina Faso | 83 | High | The Logistics Performance Index is 2.3 out of 5; 34.0% of the population has electricity access (2022, 2024). |
| 06 |  Burundi | 81 | High | The Logistics Performance Index is 2.1 out of 5; 20.1% of the population has electricity access (2018, 2024). Economy-wide FDI restrictiveness (OECD, 0 open to 1 closed): |
| 07 |  Zimbabwe | 81 | High | The Logistics Performance Index is 2.5 out of 5; 62.0% of the population has electricity access (2022, 2024). Economy-wide FDI restrictiveness (OECD, 0 open to 1 closed): |
| 08 |  Afghanistan | 79 | High | The Logistics Performance Index is 1.9 out of 5; 87.8% of the population has electricity access (2022, 2024). |
| 09 |  Togo | 78 | High | The Logistics Performance Index is 2.5 out of 5; 61.1% of the population has electricity access (2022, 2024). |
| 10 |  Angola | 77 | High | The Logistics Performance Index is 2.1 out of 5; 55.5% of the population has electricity access (2022, 2024). Economy-wide FDI restrictiveness (OECD, 0 open to 1 closed): |
| 11 |  Cameroon | 74 | High | The Logistics Performance Index is 2.1 out of 5; 72.0% of the population has electricity access (2022, 2024). |
| 12 |  Malawi | 74 | High | 15.6% of the population has electricity access; the Logistics Performance Index is 2.6 out of 5 (2018, 2024). Economy-wide FDI restrictiveness (OECD, 0 open to 1 closed): |
Exposure scores describe how large and relevant a sector is in a country's economy and opportunity set relative to other countries. They are not a measure of attractiveness, expected return or risk. Educational content only, not investment advice.
Largest markets by scale
05 / 154 RANKEDExposure scores show relative weight. This ranking shows absolute size on one sourced measure: container port traffic. World Bank container port traffic in twenty-foot equivalent units.
| # | Country | Container port traffic | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 |  China | 2024 | |
| 02 |  United States of America | 2024 | |
| 03 |  Singapore | 2024 | |
| 04 |  South Korea | 2024 | |
| 05 |  Malaysia | 2024 | |
| 06 |  Vietnam | 2024 | |
| 07 |  India | 2024 | |
| 08 |  United Arab Emirates | 2024 | |
| 09 |  Japan | 2024 | |
| 10 |  Spain | 2024 | |
| 11 |  Indonesia | 2024 | |
| 12 |  Netherlands | 2024 |
Derived from the cited sources as described above. A larger economy ranks higher on absolute measures even when the sector is a smaller share of its output.
Top listed companies
06 / PLAYERSLargest listed companies tagged to this sector in the Invest Global capital markets dataset, ranked by market capitalisation in US dollars. Coverage is the markets in that dataset, so it is not a global census.
| # | Company | Country | Market cap | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | DHL Group (Deutsche Post) DHL |  Germany | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 02 | Maersk MAERSK-B |  Denmark | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 03 | DSV DSV | Denmark | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 04 | Aena AENA | Spain | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 05 | Ferrovial FER | Spain | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 06 | International Container Terminal Services ICT |  Philippines | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 07 | Airports of Thailand AOT |  Thailand | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 08 | Amer Sports AS |  Finland | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 09 | LATAM Airlines LTM |  Chile | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 10 | Strabag STR |  Austria | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 11 | ENKA ENKAI |  Turkey | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 12 | InPost INPST |  Luxembourg | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 13 | Auckland Airport AIA |  New Zealand | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 14 | Turkish Airlines THYAO | Turkey | Invest Global sector tag | |
| 15 | Infratil IFT | New Zealand | Invest Global sector tag |
Not recommendations. A list of the largest companies is not a list of suggested investments. Sector tags marked Invest Global are an editorial classification of each company's main business. Market capitalisation is a snapshot, not a live quote.
Regulatory considerations
07 / REGULATION- Concession and PPP laws set risk allocation
- Tariff regulation and independent regulators
- Land acquisition and resettlement requirements
- Procurement transparency rules
The OECD FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index scores 105 economies from 0 (open) to 1 (closed). The median is , with a range of 0.00 to 0.74. The table above notes the score under each top market where it is covered. Sector-specific restrictions vary and are set out in the OECD regulatory database.
Regulatory summaries are general and change often. Confirm current rules with local counsel. Not legal advice.
Typical entry routes
08 / ACCESS- Listed infrastructure operators and global infrastructure funds
- Transport and logistics sector funds
- Infrastructure debt and project bonds
- Private infrastructure funds for qualified investors
- iShares Global Infrastructure ETFiSHARES TRUST
- Global X U.S. Infrastructure Development ETFGlobal X Funds
- iShares U.S. Transportation ETFiSHARES TRUST
Examples, not recommendations. Each fund is confirmed in the SEC series and class file. These are US-listed funds whose holdings are mostly developed-market issuers; check each prospectus for current holdings, fees and domicile. No prices, yields or fees are shown because none are verified here.
Sourced charts
09 / DATACharts show historical data from the cited sources. Past levels do not indicate future results. Commodity series are World Bank nominal US dollar monthly benchmarks.
Method and sources
10 / FORMULAEach score is a weighted average of percentile ranks. For every indicator, a country's latest observation (not older than 2014) is ranked against all other countries with data (mid-rank percentile, 0 to 1). Where a lower raw value signals more headroom (for example electricity access), the rank is inverted. The weighted average of the available percentiles is scaled to 0 to 100. A cell is published only if indicators holding at least 60 percent of the weight are available; otherwise the country is omitted for that sector.
| Indicator | Weight | Direction | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Container port traffic | 25% | Scale (higher raw value scores higher) | World Bank, World Development Indicators |
| Logistics Performance Index (1 to 5) | 25% | Headroom (lower raw value scores higher) | World Bank, World Development Indicators |
| Access to electricity | 20% | Headroom (lower raw value scores higher) | World Bank, World Development Indicators |
| Transport services exports | 15% | Scale (higher raw value scores higher) | World Bank, World Development Indicators |
| Urban population growth | 15% | Scale (higher raw value scores higher) | World Bank, World Development Indicators |
The score describes how large and relevant a sector is in a country's economy and opportunity set, relative to other countries. It is not a measure of attractiveness, return or risk, and it is not investment advice.
- World Bank, World Development Indicators CC BY 4.0
- U.S. SEC, Investment Company Series and Class Information U.S. Government work, public domain
- companiesmarketcap.com (via the Invest Global capital markets dataset) Third-party data carried over from the existing Invest Global capital markets dataset; reuse licence to be confirmed
- OECD FDI Regulatory Restrictiveness Index CC BY 4.0 (OECD content published from 1 July 2024)
Data version 2026-10-09. Every datapoint carries its source and as-of date; hover or tap a dotted value to see them.