The developing world needs USD 1 to 1.5 trillion per year in finance for infrastructure development expenditures to reach the sustainable development goals by 2030. Given this challenge, this paper looks at the question of what is the role of institutional investors in financing development in Asia and the Pacific? The short answer is “currently small, but potentially significant”. This paper identifies a number of impediments to the growth of institutional investments in development projects and the corresponding solutions. Impediments discussed include: limited size of capital markets; complexity of infrastructure projects; and the political risks associated with financing projects. The solutions identified require sustained efforts in a number of areas: securing a stable macroeconomic environment; maintaining a strong legal framework; streamlining infrastructure project management; encouraging public private partnerships; and insuring regulatory consistency and transparency as well as the rule of law in dealing with potential disputes related to infrastructure investments.