I wrote yesterday about how the Indonesian government were handling a renegotiation of the terms of toll road concession contracts.
As an example of how this works in countries with more mature regulatory regimes, this article talks about the Victorian government's decision to make trams free in the Melbourne CBD.
The government reported that they did it to help lower the cost of living, and to make it easier for commuters and tourists to use trams in the city. As the operator of the trams would be losing money as a result of this change, the Victorian government had the compensate them for the loss. The cost of the initiative was estimated at around AUD 100 million for the first year of operations.
Reasonable people can differ over whether making trams free is worth the money, or whether AUD 100 million is reasonable compensation for the loss, but the way the Victorian government handled the renegotiation was professional, transparent, and consistent with investor expectations, and good regulatory practice.
A government like Victoria's knows that it's cheaper to pay AUD 100 million in cash than it is to run the risk of tarnishing their reputation with investors by trying to force the private operator to take the burden of their policy decision. Either way, they'll pay, at least this way they know exactly what it costs them.
All of this contributes to Victoria's perception as a low-risk investment destination, which flows through into cheaper goods and services for Victorian consumers.