The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) recorded an income of N160.06 billion last year, marking a 343 per cent more than the N36.15 billion income it recorded the previous year.
Announcing its 2020 audited financial reports in a virtual platform, Managing Director of NSIA Mr. Uche Orji said despite the challenges of Covid-19, NSIA had a strong year.
He attributed the strong performance to NSIA’s investments in international capital markets, improved contribution from subsidiaries and affiliates and exchange gain from foreign currency positions.
The NSIA income came from devaluation gain of N51billion, and core income of N109billion compared to N33.07 billion in 2019.
But Orji lamented: “Covid-19 adversely affected logistics around infrastructure projects, especially the toll road projects and the presidential fertiliser initiative.”
Despite the pandemic, the Authority achieved 33 percent growth in Net Assets to N772.75 billion compared to the previous year’s performance of N579.54 billion.
Orji said the NSIA “received additional contribution of $250 million; and provided first stabilisation support to the Federal Government of $150 million withdrawn from Stabilisation Fund last year.
The same year, the NSIA received $311 million from funds recovered from the late General Abacha from the United States Department of Justice and Island of Jersey for deployment towards the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF) projects of Abuja-Kaduna-Kano Highway, Lagos Ibadan Expressway and Second Niger Bridge.
In response to COVID-19, Orji said: “NSIA partnered the global Citizen, a not-for profit group, to form the Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund. Separately NSIA acquired and distributed oxygen concentrators to the 21-teaching hospital as part of corporate social responsibility; in addition to staffing support to the Presidential taskforce on COVID-19.”
In 2020, the NSIA “invested additional capital into NG Clearing, the first derivative clearing house in Nigeria to maintain NSIA’s shareholding at 16.5 per cent following the company’s rights issue of 2020″ Orji said.
The NSIA admitted InfraCo Africa, a Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG) company based in the UK as 33 per cent shareholder in InfraCredit, reducing NSIA’s stake from 50 per cent in 2019 to 33 per cent in 2021. NSIA, Orji said, is in discussions with additional investors into InfraCredit.
The following asset classes were standout performers in 2020. “In $ returns Venture Capital investments were up 29 per cent in dollar terms, Hedge Funds were up 11 per cent, Emerging Long Only Equity Managers grew by 22 per cent, Developed Long Only Equity Managers also grew by 19 per cent and Private Equity was up 13 per cent for the year.
Orji stated that “some managers in the long only asset classes were up more than 50 per cent in the year as most took advantage of the supportive environment provided by central bank”.
The only underperforming asset classes Orji said “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”.
He said: “NSIA expects these funds will recover eventually, having had a solid performance in the past years. Stabilisation Fund Liquidated portion of the Stabilization Fund assets in 2020 to meet the $150million redemption that augmented the July 2020 FAAC to all three tiers of government”.
Another indicator of a bright future is that the “Stabilisation Fund (SF) performed well given the economic climate and ultra-low interest rates set by central bankers”.
