South Africa's PIC invests in Africa Finance Corporation
South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation (PIC), Africa’s largest asset manager, with over $150 billion in assets under management, has given formal notification to make a $100 million equity investment in the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).
The approved investment from the South African pension fund manager follows recent equity inflows to AFC from the Seychelles Pension Fund, the Government of Sierra Leone, the Republic of Togo, the Central Bank of Guinea and further investment from the Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund, which are among the 32 equity investors in AFC.
AFC provides solutions for Africa’s infrastructure deficit and challenging operating environment. The corporation recently announced its joint acquisition of Lekela Power, Africa’s biggest renewables independent power producer (IPP), with plans to more than double operating capacity of the operating assets within four years. Other AFC projects include the ARISE Special Economic Zone in Gabon, an industrial ecosystem building value from the forestry and minerals industry.
“The PIC is delighted to partner with the AFC in the development, industrialisation and growth of the African continent,” said Kabelo Rikhotso, chief investment officer for PIC. “Our clients’ investment mandates allow us to invest in the rest of the African continent. We believe that this partnership will assist us to deliver on that mandate and to diversify our growing portfolio. We are confident of the future prospect of this investment and its potential positive societal benefits.”
As a shareholder, PIC will further benefit from co-investment opportunities and access to AFC’s project development and risk-mitigated projects on the continent across the power, transport and logistics, natural resources, telecommunications and heavy industrial sectors.
“This equity investment is a significant vote of confidence in AFC and connects us to a very important source of capital in Africa,” said Samaila Zubairu, AFC president and CEO. “African pension funds have a key role to play in financing the instrumental infrastructure urgently needed on the continent and we look forward to a long-term partnership for a prosperous African future.”
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