Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund to get $250 million new contribution

22 Nov 2019
Financial Nigeria

Summary

NSIA declared a profit of N44.3 billion in 2018, and N24 billion in the first six months of 2019.

Uche Orji, Managing Director/CEO, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority

The National Economic Council (NEC) has approved the investment of an additional $250 million into the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), the manager of the country's sovereign wealth fund. The approval was made by NEC on Thursday during the 99th meeting of the council, chaired by Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, in Abuja. The NEC comprises of the 36 State Governors, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), and other federal government officials.

The decision on the new capital investment was taken following the presentation of NSIA's 2018 Annual Report and Accounts as well as its 2019 finance update to NEC by Uche Orji, Managing Director/CEO of NSIA. According to a statement sent to Financial Nigeria from the Office of the Vice President, NSIA declared a profit of N44.3 billion in 2018, and N24 billion in the first six months of 2019.

“This is achieved in the face of a volatile international market environment driven by the trade dispute between the United States and China as well as Brexit challenges," Orji said.

The NSIA's CEO also stressed that the Authority is focused on its infrastructure fund on agriculture, road, power, healthcare projects and gas industrialisation. He said as the manager of the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), the NSIA is focused on deploying capital to ensure the completion of the second Niger Bridge, Abuja-Kano Highway and Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Other projects under the PIDF include the Mambila Hydro Power project and East-West Road.

NSIA started operations in 2012 and received a $1 billion seed capital in 2013 with which it began its investment operations. Between 2016 and 2017, additional contributions of $500 million were made to the Authority by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. NSIA manages three ring-fenced funds – the Stabilisation Fund (SF), the Future Generations Fund (FGF), and the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund (NIF) – as required by the NSIA Act. The Authority allocates its core capital across these three funds. The PIDF is a non-core capital managed by the Authority.

"The NSIA intends to create a number of co-investment funds in the area of healthcare, agriculture and gas projects," Orji stated. "These projects worth N2.5 trillion, will be implemented under a business model that includes the payment of reasonable service charges (e.g. tolling of roads, electricity tariffs, etc.) after the projects have been fully developed."

Apart from the additional $250 million, the Managing Director of NSIA also said the Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai, will chair a committee of NEC that will consider how a portion of pension funds could be invested in NSIA, with possible implementation by the National Pension Commission (PenCom). The committee will include the Minister of Finance, the CBN Governor and NSIA's Managing Director.


Other Photos/Videos

Advertisement