The Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund, a debt fund managed by Chapel Hill Denham Management Limited has listed the NGN200 billion debt instrument on the FMDQ Securities Exchange.
The listing first series under this Programme – Series I19 million units of ₦101.20 each. The NIDF (or the Fund) – the Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund Series I 49,450,000 Units of ₦101.20 each, under the ₦200,000,000,000.00 Issuance Programme – following a very swift and efficient application process, was granted approval on July 14, 2017, by the FMDQ Board Listings, Markets and Technology Committee, to be listed on the platform of FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange (FMDQ or the OTC Exchange).
The Fund, which is the first-ever listed infrastructure debt fund in Nigeria (and Sub-Saharan Africa), is a close-ended fund and has its investment focus on the traditional infrastructure sectors, primarily transport, power, renewable energy, utilities, energy infrastructure (e.g. storage terminals), logistics and other public-private-partnership type investments, thereby supporting infrastructural development in Nigeria. The Fund aims to enable investors access infrastructure as an asset class, while providing the benefit of predictable returns available from long-dated infrastructure debt investments.
Mr. Bolaji Balogun said “Infrastructure funding has been a major investment theme in our firm over the last decade. We are very proud of this pioneering role and NIDF is a natural fit with our commitment to developing Nigeria and Africa’s productive infrastructure. The progressive regulatory environment in Nigeria, which enabled NIDF to be conceptualised, reaffirms the forward-thinking approach of PenCom, SEC and FMDQ. Infrastructure debt provides a uniquely attractive combination of long term, stable, predictable income and a yield higher than that available from government bonds.”
Mr. Philip Southwell, Chairman of NIDF’s Investment Committee, said “NIDF aims to provide investors regular and stable income by making debt investments in Nigerian infrastructure projects. The market opportunity is huge in Nigeria not only because of the size of the pension fund assets available for investment in NIDF, but also by the number of high quality, investable projects.”
Mr. Anshul Rai, the Chief Executive Officer of NIDF, “Project owners looking for long-dated infrastructure debt now have a reliable partner in the NIDF. Also, by funding in Naira, the NIDF removes currency risk, for both investors and borrowers alike, and that helps make Nigerian infrastructure a much safer place to invest.”
