Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria Ltd. selected four asset managers to run a fund set up to drive investment in roads, railways and power projects in Africa’s largest economy. Investors in the Infrastructure Corp. of Nigeria Ltd., include Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, and the Africa Finance Corporation.
Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, says the federal government has approved the appointment of asset managers for the Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria. KPMG had been appointed as the transaction advisers for the Corporation.
Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria Ltd. hired Netherlands-based Sanlam Infraworks; AIIM, a unit of South Africa’s Old Mutual Group; Lagos-based Chapel Hill Denham; and Tripple A, a consortium comprising AfricaPlus Partners and Arc Asset Management as well as Afrinvest West Africa, a Nigerian investment bank. The money managers will raise the rest of the funds.
Following the conclusion of the hiring process, Infrastructure Corporation is expected to begin full operation by the third quarter of 2021.
Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari this year approved 1 trillion naira for the company to help close Nigeria’s huge infrastructure deficit.
Emefiele said, “Work has indeed attained an advanced stage, and we have received the approval for the appointment of KPMG as the transaction advisers, and only recently we also obtained approval for the appointment of asset managers,” .
“So, following conclusions of these arrangements and further activities, I like to assure all of us that the Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria is expected to begin full operation by the third quarter of 2021.
“We believe that through partnership with the private sector, Infra-Co will be able to leverage close to N15 trillion over the coming years to close the country’s infrastructure gap.”
The governor said Infra-Co, recently approved by President Muhammadu Buhari, with a capital base of N15 trillion, would raise private sector capital to support investment in key infrastructure in Nigeria.
“I’m happy to acknowledge that the establishment of the Infrastructure Corporation of Nigeria has generated a lot of interest from both local and international private fund managers,” he added.
