The consultancy will be in charge of giving input for investors to inject capital into the ambitious Hyperloop supersonic train project, which they see the opportunity of their arrival in Mexico.
The financial consultancy Hill House Capital will be in charge of opening the door for Mexican investors to inject capital into the ambitious Hyperloop supersonic train project, which is already being prepared in some regions such as the United Arab Emirates, France, and the United States.
If so, and if the entrepreneurial drive is positive in Mexico, this project could be contemplated for 2023 in our region, being one of the most interesting in the Latin American region.
Pedro J. Moreno Cantalejo, founder and CEO of Hill House Capital, told Forbes Mexico that business enthusiasm is optimistic about this type of project and that he is confident that investors will bet on new financing alternatives.
“The first pilot is taking place in Abu Dhabi and in 2021 it will be when it will be finished. At the commercial level we could be talking in Mexico of 2023 to have a line as long as there is interest from investors, “said the manager.
Hyperloop Transportation Technologies is in a capital raising of 200 million dollars in which in a first stage or Phase A expect 50 million dollars and then a second phase of 150 million dollars.
“I would love that the 50 million dollars of Phase A of Hyperloop were from Mexican investors. We at Hill House Capital have the illusion of getting it and hopefully, that those are Mexican. In total what they are looking for is 200 but in two years the first year is 50 and they need it in the next six months, I do believe that right now there may be appetite on the part of investors, “said Moreno Cantalejo.
Mexico-Guadalajara, in just 45 minutes?
On the subject of investments or interest by the government, Juan Garrido Otaola, Managing Partner of Hill House Capital, said that investments for this project are open to any capital including the government.
“This is open to any investment and should not necessarily be by government or private capital is for those who seek to invest in a novel project,” he said.
Hill House Capital acknowledged that there is caution in the business situation but internally, however recognizes that the money is there and needs profitability especially in projects of this type.
“We are the only ones who have it here in Mexico, they have said that they are raising capital worldwide, but I would love that those first 50 million were Mexican. What this company is going to do is license infrastructure companies with their technology so they can build these trains. In the end yes, they will invest in a global company but that will be able to impact on innovation projects in Mexico.
In the presentation of the project, the distance between Mexico City and Guadalajara was taken as an example, which in a hypothetical case would be only 45 minutes on board this train.
“I would love this project, which was exemplified. Imagine a Mexico-Guadalajara in 45 minutes, this of course would change the physiognomy of many things in the country, “said Moreno Cantalejo.
A project more than painted for Mexico
Andrés de León, Operations Director (COO) of Hyperloop, told Forbes Mexico that Mexico is one of the countries in the region that would have opportunities for deployment.
“They are great territories, so this also definitely gives you more possibilities. Definitely in Mexico I see a great opportunity for Hyperloop, because there are great distances between important population centers that could be covered, “said the executive.
He mentioned that countries such as Chile, Argentina, Brazil, would be other bets so that these types of developments can be carried out as they suffer not only from traffic but from large concentrations in their main cities.
“It’s a worldwide process where we launched the B series now and within that process in Mexico we chose Hill House because we felt it was a good partner to guide us through this process in Mexico, obviously we can not be everywhere is that we need local partners. We understand that it is a very professional team in commercial banking, in private banking and that its way has fit very well with us.
When asking the representative of Hyperloop about the possibilities that this project could be financed by private investors or the public sector government, he said that it depends on how the opportunities are perceived since it is not only a transport service.
“It depends a lot on the public sector or in this case on government, if they understand that it is not just a transportation opportunity but an opportunity for innovation or to create an innovation ecosystem in the country and if that is understood then we could see a certain interest. Also private capital, in fact these projects can be directly financed by private capital. Mexico is a country with large infrastructure companies and they could be interested in this type of project, “he said.
The scope that Mexico could have in this type of development would be in the hand of some feasibility studies as well as investment.
“I always say the same, I believe that the first step is viability studies and it is not a study that requires a very high investment and that should be done and if it is seen to be viable, we can articulate the process so that we can say the private capital is the one that leads and this does not have to cost the public coffers money, “he said.
Source: Forbes
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