- NSIA Facilitates N10bn for Infrastructure Development
The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority has facilitated the sum of N10bn to finance infrastructure development in the country.
The N10bn was raised through a bond issuance programme by InfraCredit, which is a credit enhancement facility established by the NSIA in collaboration with GuarantCo, a private infrastructure development company.
The bond issuance was confirmed in a statement issued by the NSIA on Wednesday, where it said the fund would assist in connecting infrastructure as an asset class to the long-term local currency debt capital markets in Nigeria.
It stated that under the collaboration, the guarantee provided by InfraCredit would enable Viathan Funding Plc, a special purpose vehicle established to raise debt capital, access the debt capital markets for the first time by issuing N10bn bond at an interest rate of which was due for repayment in 2017.
The statement said the net proceeds of the bond would be utilised by the Viathan Group to expand its power generation capacity by 7.5 megawatts, construct a compressed natural gas plant and refinance short-term bank debts.
Speaking on the transaction, the Chairman, InfraCredit, who is also the Managing Director of the NSIA, Uche Orji, said the issuance of the bond aligned with the overall objective of the government in addressing the infrastructure needs of the country.
He explained that the decision of the NSIA to establish Infracredit was borne out of the conviction that it would serve as a catalyst for facilitating private sector investment in infrastructure from pension funds and other long-term private institutional investors.
This, he added, would help to guarantee sustainable growth of the economy.
“The success of this transaction aligns with the overall objective of InfraCredit’s sponsors, the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority and GuarantCo, in establishing InfraCredit to serve as a catalyst for facilitating private investment in infrastructure from pension funds and other long-term private institutional investors in order to support sustained economic growth in Nigeria,” Orji stated.
The statement also quoted the Chief Executive Officer of InfraCredit, Chinua Azubike, to have said that the success of the bond was a demonstration of the confidence investors had in the Nigerian economy.
