The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) on Thursday disclosed that it posted N68.3 billion as profit from January 2018 to June 30 this year from its various investment activities.
The Managing Director of state-owned investment authority, Mr Uche Orji, who made the disclosure at the end of the National Economic Council (NEC), meeting held in Abuja, also said that the NEC had approved additional $250 million to support its operations.
Giving a breakdown of the N68.3 billion revenue generation, the investment expert explained that out of the N68.3 billion revenue, N44.3 billion was realized in 2018, while the remaining N24 billion was generated from January to June 30 this year.
He expatiated: “In summary, the NSIA and its group made a profit total of N44.3 billion in 2018 and so far in 2019 as at the first six months period ended, the NSIA has updated the council that they have made a profit of N24 billion so far.
“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. In a review of the activities of the NSIA, the NSIA is focused on its infrastructure fund on agriculture, road, power, healthcare projects and gas industrialization’’, the NSIA boss added.
Speaking on the authority’s areas of focus, Orji pointed out that within the road sector the NSIA, as the manager of the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), will prioritise the deployment of adequate capital to ensure the completion of the second Niger Bridge, Abuja-Kano highway and Lagos-Ibadan expressway projects.
He listed other projects under the PIDF which the investment agency would be focusing on as including the Mambila Hydro Power project and East-West Road.
In the health sector, the investment expert hinted that the NSIA would commit funds capital to boost its healthcare projects, citing the successful implementation of its cancer treatment project through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with LUTH and a Diagnostic and Radiology Centre in Aminu Kano Specialist Hospital Kano as reasons for taking further steps to enhance health services in the country.
The NSIA chief said that while the Kano Diagnostic and Radiology Centre would be inaugurated next month, the Federal Medical Centre Umuahia PPP project would be completed in the first quarter of 2020.
He said: “To facilitate this, the NSIA will create co-investment fund to bring other investors into these projects to ensure their completion and the revenue model will include tolling the roads as other opportunities to ensure that these roads are viable.
On the planned $250 million investment by government in NSIA, Orji said that apart from the new $250 million investment approved by the NEC, it was decided “that the governor of Kaduna State should chair a committee of the National Economic Council to consider how a portion of the Pension Fund can also be leveraged into investment in the NSIA with possible implementation with PenCom.’’
He listed members of the committee as including the Minister of Finance, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Managing Director of the NSIA.
