By James Emejo
The Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) has said it recorded a five per cent growth in its total assets, from N617.7 billion in 2018, to N649.84 billion as at the end of 2019. It also recorded a profit after tax of N34.46 billion in the 2019 financial period.
These figures are contained in the 2019 audited financial statement of the agency which was released in Abuja, yesterday.
The NSIA also said it recorded total comprehensive income of N36.15 billion in 2019 as against the N44.34 billion it recorded in 2018.
According to the report, excluding foreign exchange gain of N18 billion in 2018 and N1.28 in 2019, the net income in 2019 was N34.87 billion compared to N26.28 billion in 2018.
Also, it closed key transactions and increased capital deployment on domestic infrastructure projects, specifically in agriculture, healthcare, and infrastructure-enabling financial institutions.
In the healthcare sector, the NSIA said it operationalised the Cancer Centre at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital in May last year.
The Authority also said it recorded significant progress in civil and construction works at the Advanced Diagnostic Centres at the Federal Medical Centre Umuahia and Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano.
These construction works, it said, were subsequently completed this year.
On the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative, the NSIA said it delivered 6.5 million 50kg bags of NPK 20:10:10, and that accredited participating blending plants increased from 18 to 31 last year.
For the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund (PIDF), the Authority said it received N90 billion from government and that it deployed capital across three of the major road projects under the PIDF.
The three major projects are the Second Niger Bridge, Lagos – Ibadan Expressway and Abuja-Zaria-Kaduna-Kano Road.
As at the end of 2019, it said a total of N181.9 billion had been deployed across all the three projects.
Speaking on the financial performance, the Managing Director, NSIA, Mr. Uche Orji, said the outlook of the Fund remains promising.
He explained: “The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented human and health crisis with significant impact on global markets. As such, it may be difficult to predict the markets overall reaction to development.
“It is predictable that the volatility introduced by the onset of the pandemic may linger. However, the Authority continues to monitor the market conditions with the view to leverage the upside risks that avail themselves in the market. “We expect that our investment strategy will continue to deliver positive returns in the long term in 2020 as the markets normalise and new opportunities emerge.”
The NSIA boss said asset allocation strategy remains stable across the various funds, adding that Future Generations Fund remains 25 per cent public equity, 25 per cent private equity, 25 per cent Absolute Returns and 25 per cent other diversifiers.
He gave the areas of focus for the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund to include agriculture, healthcare, power, toll roads and gas industrialisation.
Orji said the NSIA closed key transactions and increased capital deployment on domestic infrastructure projects, specifically in motorways, agriculture, healthcare, and power:
Orji said, “Operationalising several subsidiaries of the NSIA will be a key focus, especially in the healthcare sector where we have several projects in the pipeline. NSIA has invested in several financial companies that help develop the capital markets, including Nigeria Mortgage Refinancing Company, InfraCredit, NG Clearing, Development Bank of Nigeria, and Family Homes Funds.
“We will continue to work on strengthening these entities and making new investments in companies that strengthen financial market infrastructure.”
The NSIA Boss said the agency would continue to deploy capital into vital sectors of the economy with increased focus on sectors that will engineer real growth.
