Day: February 26, 2016

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ARM-Harith Infrastructure Fund Achieves First Close

LAGOS: ARM-Harith Infrastructure Investment Ltd (“ARMHIIL”), a Joint Venture between Asset & Resource Management Company Ltd (“ARM”) and Harith General Partners (Pty) Ltd (“Harith”) of South Africa, has announced first close of the indigenously developed and managed ARM-Harith Infrastructure Fund (“ARMHIF”).

A pioneering US$250 million closed-ended specialist PE Infrastructure Fund, ARMHIF is structured in line with international best practice and core investment focus is on transportation, Energy, and Utilities in West Africa, and primarily Nigeria. The Fund Management Team comprises multidisciplinary professionals with over 70 years combined experience in development, structuring, financing, and execution of infrastructure projects in Sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the world.

Total commitments to the Fund are currently around US$91 million. ARM, the lead sponsor and main investor in ARMHIF, committed US$25 million to the Fund. Harith, the co-sponsor, together with investors from its pool, committed a matching US$25 million. The African Development Bank (“AfDB”), playing a key role as catalyst for investment by the limited partners in the Fund, committed US$20 million. Nigerian Pension Funds, Chevron CPFA, Progress Trust CPFA, and Total E&P CPFA, also made commitments to the Fund, which we understand are the first infrastructure investments made by Nigerian Pension Funds via the private equity route. The Fund also raised commitments from commercial investors, HNIs, and the Fund Management Team.

ARMHIF has already subscribed for an equity stake in its first project investment, the pioneering Azura-Edo IPP, a US$890 million 450MW gas-fired open cycle power generation plant being developed on the outskirts of Benin City in Edo State, Nigeria. The project is the first of a new wave of project financed greenfield IPPs being developed in Nigeria. Phase 1 of the plant is targeted to come on stream in 2017, and forecast to create over 1,000 jobs during construction and operation.

“ARMHIF is the first in a series of Infrastructure Funds that we plan to raise over time, providing much needed long term equity capital for funding infrastructure in Nigeria and West Africa. We see viable investment opportunities in our pipeline, and believe good returns can be generated through our selective and skilful deployment of capital to infrastructure projects. ARMHIF is a new and investible infrastructure product for Sub-Saharan Africa, and is suitable for local and international investors alike. Having a AAA-rated international organization like the AfDB in our investor group, and Nigerian Pension Funds gaining infrastructure exposure for the first time via our Fund, is a solid start”, said Opuiyo Oforiokuma, Managing Director/CEO of ARMHIIL.

Tshepo Mahloele, CEO of Harith General Partners said that he is proud to be associated with ARM in its mission to contribute to the broader development of West Africa and Nigeria in particular. “The first close of ARMHIF is a critical milestone that takes us closer to realizing our objective of investing in infrastructure assets and ensuring that our communities have improved access to services. ARMIF’s investments will be long term in nature and investors will be offered stable yet attractive returns within a well-managed low-risk portfolio. Infrastructure investment is a good catalyst for economic stimulus through the delivery of carefully chosen and structured projects with the potential to register positive social impact.”e AfDB in our investor group, and Nigerian Pension Funds gaining infrastructure exposure for the first time via our Fund, is a solid start”, said Opuiyo Oforiokuma, Managing Director/CEO of ARMHIIL.

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Save Without Loss with Direct Debit: The Story of Lola

“My name is Lola, and this is the story of my journey to financial freedom.

For a long time, I took part in the contributory scheme in my office commonly referred to as “ajo”. I joined in at every opportunity. But my colleague, Becky refused to participate. I wondered why. After a while, I put it down to her thinking she was too good for us.

Then something happened – the people who collected the first and second rounds of contributions for our umpteenth cycle were fired! We all panicked. Not for them or how they would manage themselves and their families, but for those of us who had contributed and had not collected our lump sums. My colleagues who had been dismissed were counting on their salaries to pay us back.

You see, I contributed N100,000 a month during our usual contributory cycle. This incident threw my finances into turmoil. I had school fees due the next month. I told Becky what happened. It was at this point she told me about the Mutual Fund account she operated with ARM and the Direct Debit mandate she was running.

I understood the concept of Mutual Funds but I did not understand what she meant by a Direct Debit.”

What is a Direct Debit?

A direct debit is an instruction from you to your bank authorizing the bank to pay fixed amounts at specific intervals (monthly, quarterly, annually etc) to a merchant or an institution.

A direct debit could be a systematic and strategic way to save towards various objectives i.e. the birth of a child, payment of school fees, acquisition of an asset, growing capital for a business, et.c. The list is endless!

An ARM Mutual Funds Direct Debit:

• Encourages disciple and promotes personal financial planning

A direct debit helps you organize your finances such that you know what you are saving/investing before you start spending your income.

• Saves you time

Modern life is hectic – and you may not remember to make that contribution into your mutual fund account every month but direct debit takes care of that. Once your mandate is given to your Bank, so you do not need to lift a finger.

• Is flexibile

A direct debit allows the payment amount and frequency to be varied (at anytime), keeping you in control.

“I should have signed up for a mutual fund years ago. My funds would have been safe and there would have also been the opportunity to earn returns on my contributions instead of contributing my monies to a plan that had no opportunity for capital appreciation. Do not wait years to start a mutual fund and a direct debit like I did. Act now, and sign up for a direct debit if you already have a mutual fund, or open a mutual fund account today with a direct debit instruction.”

Contact us for advice at ARM Engage on 0700CALLARM (07002255276), send us a mail at [email protected], visit our website at www.investmentcenter.com or join the conversation on facebook and twitter (armengage).

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