The Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) says it expects to complete the concession, capital raising and operatio of
three key projects under the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund this year.
The Managing Director/CEO of NSIA, Uche Orji who disclosed this on Tuesday while presenting the agency’s outlook for 2021 identified the three road projects as Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Second Niger Bridge and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Highway.
Also, the Authority said it anticipating the ground breaking on the Ammonia and Diammonium
Phosphate Plant joint venture with OCP Morocco to be located in Akwa Ibom.
Other projections included in the outlook, Orji said, include that although the stock market was unlikely to repeat some of the performance of 2020, the NSIA expects a more likely broader market recovery, with economies opening unlike in 2020 that technology stocks drove market performance.
Under the Future Generations Fund, the NSIA it expects to allocate more capital to venture capital, global equity markets, while increasing its exposure to European equities
where it was under-exposed in 2020. “NSIA believes broad opening of the
markets will provide a comprehensive lift to equities,” Orji while presenting the Audited Financial Results of the NSIA for 2020 Financial Year.
“Despite concerns around new waves of COVID-19, the Authority remains confident that with widespread vaccination programmes, global economies will continue to
reopen and create more opportunities to create value by the NSIA,” he said.
Details of the Audited Financial Results for 2020 Financial Year reflected a strong financial performance and consistent implementation of NSIA’s
strategic infrastructure investment programmes for the year.
The highlights of NSIA’s activities and performance during the year showed that despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, Orji said the NSIA emerged stronger.
He attributed this to the agency’s strong performance from its investments in international capital markets, improved contribution from subsidiaries and affiliates and exchange gain from foreign
currency positions.
The result showed that total comprehensive income for the year grew by 343 percent to N160.06 billion, against the previous year’s figure of N36.15 billion.
Excluding devaluation gain of N51billion, Orji said core income was about N109billion compared to
N33.07 billion in 2019.
In addition, Orji said net assets value also grew by 33 percent to N772.75 billion against about N579.54
billion in 2019.
With additional contribution of $250 million by the Federal Government during the year, Orji said NSIA provided first stabilization
support of $150 million to the government to enable it meet its obligations to the three tiers of goveenment, while another $311 million was received from funds recovered from the late Abacha’s loot.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which adversely affected logistics around toll road projects and the presidential fertilizer initiative, Orji said the NSIA partnered with Global Citizen, a not-for profit group, to form the Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund.
Separately, he said NSIA acquired and distributed oxygen concentrators to the 21-teaching hospital as part of corporate social responsibility, the first such intervention since its establishment.
On the performance highlights of the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund, Orji said the NSIA toll roads reached major milestones, apart from others in agriculture and healthcare.
Under healthcare, Orji said the NSIA commenced operations at its Diagnostic Centres in Kano, Umuahia and commissioned administrative and training centre for the NSIA-Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Cancer Centre.
The NSIA boss said the agency also commenced plans during the year to roll out additional healthcare projects across the country.
“We are committed to a new quaternary hospital project to be built in Abuja; partnered with University College London (UCL) Consult to develop a pharmaceutical investment strategy with plan to develop active direct investments in 2021,” he said.
On agriculture, Orji said the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI) – produced 12million 50kg bags
of NPK 20:10:10 equivalent in 2020, bringing total production since
inception to over 30 million 50kg bags equivalent, while the number of
participating blending plants increased to 44 from less than seven at inception.
Again, Orji said the NSIA completed restructuring of the PFI and is now embarking on the next phase initiative, which substantially reduces NSIA’s involvement and
transfers more of the responsibility to the fertilizer blenders.
In addition, Orji said the NSIA completed the construction of 3000 hectare Panda Agric Farm in Nasarawa, the first project of the UFF-NSIA partnership, and received approval as a
concessionaire on the Gurara Farm project in Kaduna, the second project of the partnership expected to commence construction in 2021.
Besides, he said the NSIA is committed to the development of three other projects to rapidly grow pipeline of projects.
The projects are the completion of the collections from Bauchi State Fertiliser Company and
recording of substantial progress in collection from Bajafta.
Under the Financial Markets Infrastructure, Orji said the NSIA significantly improved contributions from subsidiaries/affiliates such
as Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit), Nigeria
Mortgage Refinance Company (NMRC) and Family Homes Funds
Ltd (FHFL), with additional investment capital into NG Clearing, the first derivative
clearing house in Nigeria to maintain NSIA’s shareholding at 16.5 percent
following the company’s rights issue of 2020.
On the performance of the Future Generations Fund, Orji reported
significant changes in asset allocation, expansion of the hedge fund managers, commitments into
venture capital sector and commencement of direct trading and co-investments in equities with selected VC and private equity managers.
He acknowledged standout performing assets during the year to include returns in dollars by US Venture Capital investments which recorded about 29 percent growth;
Hedge Funds up 11 percent; emerging Long Only Equity Mangers up 22 percent; developed Long only equity managers up 19 percent and Private Equity up 13 percenr for the year.
He said some managers in the long only asset classes were up more than
50 percent in the year, as most took advantage of the supportive
environment provided by central banks.
“The only underperforming asset classes was Other diversifiers which among other investments such as healthcare royalties, commodities, and real estate, includes
commitments to Aircraft leasing funds which had an understandably poor year due to impact of COVID-19. NSIA expects these funds will recover eventually, having had a solid performance in the past years”, he said
