SIA says sovereign wealth fund assets grew by 20% to $1.07 bln in 2015

April 2, 2016 7:54 AM

The report said 2015 was a "difficult year" but the SIA had "managed to protect its capital in a harsh and volatile market environment".

CEO of Nigeria's Sovereign Wealth Fund, Uche Orji addresses the inaugural Nigeria Philanthropy Summit in the capital Abuja, March 18, 2013. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde

Total assets of Nigerias sovereign wealth fund grew to 213.67 billion naira ($1.07 billion) in 2015, up by 20 percent compared with the previous year, its managing director said on Friday.

Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, established the Sovereign Investment Authority (SIA) in 2011 with $1 billion of seed capital in an effort to manage oil export revenues.

President Muhammadu Buhari took office last May and has prioritised cracking down on corruption and mismanagement, particularly in the oil sector, which has deepened an economic crisis exacerbated by falling crude prices.

"Total assets recorded a growth of 20 percent to 213.66 billion naira at year end," the fund's managing director, Uche Orji, said in a report issued on Friday.

The total assets were up from 177.84 billion naira ($894.57 million) the previous year. And investment income grew by 47 percent to close at 5.8 billion naira ($29.18 million).

The fund is divided into three parts, a 'Stabilisation Fund' to act as a buffer against economic turbulence, an Infrastructure Fund and a Future Generations fund.

In November officials announced that $250 million from liquid natural gas export proceeds would be injected into the wealth fund.

Orji said this additional capital was received in February 2016 and will be invested within the new fiscal year.

He said it would be invested using the existing deployment ratio of 40 percent in Infrastructure Fund, 40 percent in Future Generations Fund and 20 percent in Stabilisation Fund.

It is the first fresh money since the previous administration injected $1 billion in 2014.