Chigozie Amadi
Managing Director/Chief Executive, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA), Mr. Aminu Umar-Sadiq, yesterday disclosed that its operations and investments have generated positive social and economic impacts and contributed towards the attainment of key Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the country.
Addressing journalists at the NSIA 2023 earnings presentation in Abuja, he said over 245,000 direct jobs had been created, including about 200,000 indirect Jobs across the sectors.
He said the fund had efficiently utilised $1.64 billion in net government contributions received since 2013, resulting in Net Asset Value (NAV) of $2.47 billion in December 2023.
The NSIA boss further said the authority had continued to show resilience and growth in its asset performance in the past 10 years – a demonstration of its commitment to build its asset base while creating value within the economy.
Umar-Sadiq, further stated that through capital preservation, diversified portfolio of assets and an enterprise approach to risk management, the authority had been able to grow net assets to $2.47 billion, representing 8.5 per cent compound annual growth over the years.
He said the authority had maintained 11 years of consistent positive returns and catalysed over $1 billion in third-party investment.
He also said it developed/co-developed over 10 institutions and platforms to improve the financial market ecosystem
Leader in sustainability and preferred green partner of choice.
According to him, NSIA received its first royalty by price payment from Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency (NUPRC), in 2023, by virtue of the Petroleum Industry Act) in the sum of $45.59 million.
He said the fund’s initiatives further created economic stimulus including $7.5 billion in agriculture,
Motorways $1.8 billion, Financial Market $695 million, Gas Industrialization $274 million, Healthcare $42 million, and power $22.5 million.
He said over 236,000 farmers were supported through NSIA’s agro projects, adding that 68 per cent of beneficiary farmers are youths of which 50 per cent are females.
In the healthcare sector, he said three hospital projects with over 282,100 patients were served including 150,000 chemotherapy sessions.
In the housing sector, the NSIA boss said 13,504 affordable houses were under construction while over 3,500 youths received formal education through partnered educational institutions among others.
He said the NSIA had been able to establish a leading Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF) globally, playing a role in promoting investments for Nigeria’s economic development.
The authority remained in the top quartile of the Linaburg-Maduell Transparency Index, scoring 9 out of 10 among over 40 SWFs that were evaluated in 2022.
Also, in the 2023 Global SWF Governance, Sustainability, and Resilience Ranking, NSIA scored a perfect 100 per cent, ranking joint first with esteemed SWFs like Temasek and New Zealand Super Fund.
The GSR Scoreboard analysis reflected the NSIA’s substantial progress from a previous score of 84 per cent, showcasing its enhanced sustainability practices including improved ESG policies, a robust framework, climate investment leadership, and impactful reporting.
Notwithstanding domestic and global headwinds, NSIA had reported it grew its net assets by 119 per cent to N2.22 trillion in 2023 compared to N1.02 trillion the preceding year.
Total operating income also increased to N1.18 trillion from N101.1 billion in 2022, inclusive of foreign exchange (FX) gains during the period.
The results were contained in its audited results for the 2023 financial year.
Umar-Sadiq said, “The financial performance underscores the resilience of the NSIA’s investment strategy and the quality of its earnings, despite the challenging global macro-economic, and geo-political landscape.
“Our excellent results in 2023 and consistent positive performance over a decade offer further proof of our robust strategic asset allocation, proficient execution of our infrastructure initiatives as well as effective risk management processes.
“We remain firmly committed to catalysing positive socio-economic outcomes through critical infrastructure investments; strategic partnerships that expand our impact across pivotal sectors; and solutions that not only deliver our mandate but simultaneously uphold environmental stewardship.
“Looking ahead, we re-affirm our focus on creating shared prosperity for current and future generations of Nigerians.”
The significant rise in its operating income was attributed to the positive performance of the equities and fixed-income portfolios, as well as the positive performance of NSIA’s infrastructure investments.
In addition, the authority’s total comprehensive income increased by 1,122 per cent to N1.18 trillion in 2023, compared to N96.96 billion in 2022.
