General
Report Shows Shifting Patterns in Infrastructure Funding in Africa
A report by Baker McKenzie tagged New Dynamics: Shifting Patterns in Africa’s Infrastructure Funding has shown the state of the African infrastructure market and how the major global players’ approach to infrastructure lending on the continent is changing.
The study, which analysed new data from IJ Global, indicated that there has been a decline in the value of infrastructure lending in the region, which is known for its resilience and it is expected that as economies recover, new types of financing will be unlocked.
The data
The report’s data shows that multilateral and bilateral lending into Africa has declined – with investment levels falling successively in 2019 and 2020 compared to peak levels seen after the financial crisis.
In 2019, bilateral and multilateral lending into Africa amounted to USD 55 billion, which drops to $31 billion in 2020. Over the last six years, the decline is significant – deal values dropped from $100 billion in 2014 to $31 billion in 2020.
This slowdown in infrastructure investment was attributable to a number of factors, including the pandemic. The economic contraction has affected Nigeria and South Africa, meaning that the region’s largest economies have not been feeding in growth as in previous years.
However, market fundamentals signal a region with underlying resilience and, as the global economy recovers, finance will be unlocked. There are already positive indicators of forthcoming investment.
Commodity prices are rising and landmark deals are returning. For example, mining multinational Sibanye-Stillwater recently committed ZAR 6.3 billion to South African infrastructure projects.
The data also shows that deal tenor is contracting – from a high of 17 years in 2019 to 13 years in 2020. However, the long-term nature of infrastructure projects means that international partners have made lasting commitments to the region, which are unlikely to be abandoned despite immediate pressure on national finances.
China
Surprisingly, given the pandemic, the data shows that lending by Chinese banks into energy and infrastructure projects in Sub-Saharan Africa saw a small uplift in 2020, although deal values are well below their 2017 peak. In 2017, Chinese banks lent $11 billion to African infrastructure projects, which decreased to $4.5 billion in 2018, $2.8 billion in 2019 and $3.3 billion in 2020.
Simon Leung, Partner, Baker McKenzie Hong Kong, explains, “There has been a slowdown in the number of infrastructure deals from China. In the short-term, we expect to see more targeted lending – fewer projects of a higher quality using sophisticated structures – and new finance options, such as factoring, used to deploy Chinese capital into the region.”
International players
It is also clear that other international players have the region in their sights, with key political changes in the United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) likely to see capital flow into Africa.
Michael Foundethakis, Partner and Global Head of Projects and Trade & Export Finance, Baker McKenzie Paris, notes, “The US hasn’t kept pace with Chinese lending into Africa. The recent change in administration is likely to renew focus on impact-building and financing strategic long-term projects in the region, but bankability and risk-sharing remain a priority for US lenders.”
Lodewyk Meyer, Partner, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg, notes further that, “The infrastructure funding gap is so large and of such strategic importance, it remains necessary to encourage international investment to fill it.
“African DFIs are very good at collaborating and I am encouraged by the actions of the new US administration, UK government and New Development Bank, in particular in their willingness to work with regional institutions in this regard.
“The UK is making a strong play for influence, investment and trade with Africa post-Brexit. Further to key summits held in 2020 and 2021, there are signs that finance will be redirected into Africa.”
Commercial banks
The report points to infrastructure gaps in energy provision, internet access and transportation that have resulted in an urgent imperative to identify and enable new sources of finance outside traditional lenders and international partners. Further to the expected return of multilateral and bilateral lending, there is room for evolution to bridge the funding-opportunity gap.
The report shows, however, that this vacuum is unlikely to be filled by commercial banks, noting that in 2020, just 84 projects were supported by commercial bank finance and their involvement in Development Finance Institution (DFI) and Export Credit Agency (ECA) deals continues on a downward trend.
Luka Lightfoot, Partner, Baker McKenzie London, explains, “Banks are likely to be focusing on managing liquidity, with lenders deploying capital selectively.”
DFIs and new financing solutions
Instead, local and regional banks, specialist infrastructure funds and private equity and debt are stepping in to collaborate with DFIs and access returns. This outlines the deepening DFI involvement in the infrastructure ecosystem at large, with DFIs increasingly anchoring the infrastructure ecosystem in Africa – serving a critical function for project finance as investment facilitator and a check on capital.
This is because they can shoulder the political risk and access government protections in a way that others can’t, enter markets others can’t and are uniquely capable of facilitating long-term lending.
The report explains how the amount of capital needed to fill the infrastructure gap is significant and DFIs can’t bridge it alone. Private equity, debt finance and specialist infrastructure funds are primed to enter the market, and multi-finance and blended solutions are expected to grow in popularity as a way to de-risk deals and support a broader ecosystem of lenders.
Lightfoot comments, “We expect to see an increase in non-bank activity in Africa in future as a result of new credit mitigation products come to market. We have seen an increase in appetite from established market participants, such as development banks, to create products that are not tied to existing arrangements that may have limited the type of finance available.”
A new era
Lamyaa Gadelhak, Partner and Co-head of Banking, Finance and Projects at Helmy, Hamza & Partners, Baker McKenzie Cairo, adds, “The pandemic represents the end of an era and the start of a new one. There will be a re-prioritization of funds and strategy through this lens. I expect to see more investments in the healthcare industry and connected infrastructure, as well as water-related projects, to be a top priority. We should also consider the impact of other factors aside from the pandemic.
“For instance, the African Continental Free Trade Agreement and what it needs to translate into increased cross-regional trends. I would expect the development of transportation and logistics infrastructure-focused projects to enable the acceleration of on-ground execution of intra-African trade.”
Emeka Chinwuba, Partner, Baker McKenzie New York, and Banking, Finance & Major Projects Group member, concludes, “Last year was a relatively difficult year across jurisdictions and for investors – with considerable uncertainty and change in the ways in which we do business.
“Shutdowns had a depressant effect on the infrastructure market, as deals in the pipeline were delayed and projects halted as a result of COVID-19. Full vaccination in Africa is still quite a long way off comparatively, so we can’t expect a full and fast return to normal activity. But we’ve reached the bottom, and the only way is up.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government, the 36 state governments, and the 774 local government councils (LGCs) in the country have share N1.424 trillion from a gross revenue of N2.310 trillion recorded in the month of December 2024.
This was disclosed by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) at its December 2024 meeting chaired by the Minister of Finance and the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun.
The funds shared comprised Gross Statutory Revenue, Value-Added Tax (VAT), Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL), and Exchange Difference (ED), with the sum of N84.780 billion removed for the cost of collection and N801.175 billion allocated for transfers intervention and refunds.
The total revenue distributable for December 2024 was drawn from statutory revenue of N386.124 billion, VAT of N604.872 billion, EMTL of N31.211 billion, and exchange difference of N402.714 billion.
It was disclosed that the federal government received N451.193 billion, the states got N498.498 billion, the local councils shared N361.754 billion, and the oil-producing states were given N113.477 billion as 13 per cent derivation of mineral revenue).
In a communique issued by FAAC after the meeting, it was stated that the gross revenue available from the VAT was N649.561 billion as against N628.973 billion distributed in the preceding month, resulting in an increase of N20.588 billion.
From that amount, the sum of N25.982 billion was allocated for the cost of collection and the sum of N18.707 billion given for transfers, intervention and tefunds.
The remaining N649.561 billion was distributed to the three tiers of government, of which the federal government got N90.731 billion, the states received N302.436 billion and councils got N211.705 billion.
Accordingly, the gross statutory revenue of N1.226 billion received for the month was lower than the sum of N1.827 billion received in the previous month by N6.988 billion.
From the stated amount, the sum of N57.498 billion was allocated for the cost of collection and a total of N782.468 for transfers, intervention and refunds.
The remaining balance of N386.124 billion was distributed as follows to the three tiers of government: federal government got the sum of N167.690 billion, states received N85.055 Billion, the sum of N65.574 billion was allocated to LGCs and N67.806 billion was given to the beneficiary states as 13 per cent derivation.
Also, the sum of N31.211 billion from EMTL was distributed in the period under review, with the central government getting N4.682 billion, the states receiving N15.605 billion, the local councils getting N10.924 billion, and N1.300 billion allocated for cost of collection.
It was further revealed that from the N402.714 billion from exchange difference, the federal government received N188.090 billion, states got N95.402 billion, and the councils got N73.551 billion, while the oil-producing states shared N45.671 billion.
FAAC disclosed that VAT and EMTL increased significantly last month, while oil and gas royalty, CET levies, excise duty, import duty, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) and Companies Income Tax (CIT) decreased considerably.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (FMAFS), in collaboration with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), is finalising plans to introduce a digital farmer registry via the Government 2 People (G2P) card initiative.
The National Identity Number (NIN) enabled card initiative will address the Federal Ministry’s immediate challenges of identity and authentication, required to deliver government services efficiently and accurately, according to a statement jointly issued by Mr Joel Oruche, Director of Information, FMAFS and Mr Kayode Adegoke, NIMC’s spokesperson on Thursday.
The statement added that the programme seeks to address existing barriers to effective government programs, ensuring that aid reaches the right beneficiaries.
The partnership will, “leverage the National Identity Management System to power the Ministry’s farmer registry by the linkage of the NIN and attendant biometric identity data of each farmer to their farmland, as well as all necessary supporting data relating to that farmer, including the size of the holding, type of crops or livestock.”
Connecting the NIN-backed registry to the G2P card will allow for the provision of targeted and ring-fenced aid to the farmers and other recipients of government benefits under the FMAFS programmes.
“The G2P card ecosystem is an initiative that allows for the issuance of NON-enabled cards by Federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), and enables the use of the card’s frontend by these MDAs for their respective programmes. The key feature of the ecosystem is a biometrics card with multiple wallets that can provide verifiable identification and also process transactions without internet connectivity, allowing the Ministry to support beneficiaries in the most remote locations. The card is unique to each citizen, and every Nigerian and legal resident is eligible to obtain it, banked or unbanked. The G2P card will be owned by and personalised to each MDA that adopts its usage.
“By adopting this card, FMAFS can uniquely identify all farmers, provide multiple agriculture services through the card in a manner that eliminates risks and fraud and also provide end-to-end visibility within the agriculture value chain thus enabling scalability. Agriculture services to be provided through the card include farmer financing, input distribution, farmland mapping linked to identity, extension services monitoring & evaluation and agency banking as well as multiple types of third-party services.
“Within this framework, NIMC will provide the foundational identity ecosystem to FMAFS, who as the owner of both the farmer registry and G2P card scheme will provide government services via the issued G2P cards, tailored to the needs of the farmers supported by the Ministry at the national and sub-national levels.
“The G2P card has a large capacity in-card chip that stores beneficiary identity, know your customer (KYC), picture, and fingerprints. In addition, it has two applets and several wallets dedicated to multiple types of programmes, which provides the flexibility and channels needed for multiple interventions to be implemented against the same unique identity. This flexibility is required to address infrastructure challenges limiting identity verification and digital evidence of beneficiary access when implementing government programmes,” the statement revealed.
The G2P biometric cards will be processed through a bespoke but interoperable biometrics Point of Sale (POS) acceptance device, which requires biometrics to access and operate which will allow the Ministry to better deliver services and programmes in any location regardless of infrastructure challenges.
The card will operate as a digital wallet/ prepaid card and it is tailored for government transactions such as subsidies, loans, welfare disbursement, pensions and other activities carried out by FMAFS.
“With the G2P ecosystem, any programme implemented by the Ministry can now be administered independently and showcased through digitally enabled dashboards displaying key data on how each programme has been efficiently implemented or otherwise,” the statement added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will arraign the Chairman of Honeywell Group, Mr Oba Otudeko, and three other defendants on Monday, January 20, 2025, over an alleged fraud worth about N12.3 billion.
The anti-graft agency on Thursday filed a 13-count criminal charge against the respected businessman and others. They will be brought before Justice Chukwujekwu Aneke of the Federal High Court, Lagos next week.
Mr Otudeko will be arraigned alongside a former Managing Director of First Bank, Mr Olabisi Onasanya; a former member of the board of directors of Honeywell Flour Mills Plc, Mr Soji Akintayo; and a company linked to Mr Otudeko, Anchorage Leisure Ltd.
All four were listed as defendants in the suit filed by an EFCC prosecutor, Mrs Bilkisu Buhari-Bala, on January 16, 2025.
The EFCC alleged the four committed fraud in tranches of N5.2 billion, N6.2 billion, N6.150 billion, N1.5 billion and N500 million, between 2013 and 2014 in Lagos.
In proof of the charge against the defendants, the EFCC intends to call representatives of First Bank, including Mrs Cecelia Majekodunmi, Mr Ola Michael Aderogba, Mr Abiodun Olatunji, Mr Raymond Eze, Mr Abiodun Odunbola and Mr Adeeyo David, all of whom are expected to give evidence of the fraudulent misrepresentation of the defendants and tender relevant documents.
The agency will also rely on the testimonies of representatives of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Stallion Nigeria Limited, and V-tech Dynamics Ltd.
Also included in the EFCC’s list of witnesses are one Ms Farida Abubakar and Ms Adaeze Nwakobi.
Some of the Counts
According to the commission, the offences contravene Section 8(a) of Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and were punishable under Section 1 (3) of the same Act.
Count 1 of the charge says that Chief Oba Otudeko, Stephen Olabisi Onasanya, Soji Akintayo and Anchorage Leisure Limited between 2013 and 2014 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court conspired amongst yourselves to obtain the sum of N12,300,000,000.00 (Twelve Billion, Three Hundred Million Naira Only), from First Bank Limited on the pretence that the said sum represented credit facilities applied for by V- Tech Dynamic Links Limited and Stallion Nigeria Limited, which representation you know to be false, and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 8(a) of Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences Act 2006 and punishable under Section 1(3) of the same Act.
In Count 2, it was alleged that the defendants, on or about 26th day of November, 2013 in Lagos, “obtained the sum of N5.2 Billion from First Bank Limited on the pretence that the said sum represented credit facilities applied for by V Tech Dynamic Links Limited which representation you know to be false.”
The 3rd count claims that the defendants, between 2013 and 2014 in Lagos, obtained N6.2 Billion from First Bank Limited on the pretence that the said sum represented credit facilities applied for and disbursed to Stallion Nigeria Limited, which representation you know to be false.”
Count 4 reads, that you, Chief Oba Otudeko, Stephen Olabisi Onasanya, Soji Akintayo and Anchorage Leisure Limited on or about 26th day of November 2013 in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court conspired amongst yourselves to use the total sum of N6,150,000,000,.00 (Six Billion, One Hundred and Fifty Million Naira Only.), which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of proceeds of your unlawful activities to wit: Obtaining by False Pretence and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Sections 18(a), 15 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act.
Count 5 accuses Chief Oba Otudeko, Stephen Olabisi Onasanya, Soji Akintayo and Anchorage Leisure Limited on or about 11th day of December, 2013 in Lagos, procured Honeywell Flour Mills Plc to retain the sum of N1.5 billion, which sum you reasonably ought to have known forms part of proceeds of your unlawful activities to wit: Obtaining by False Pretence and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18(c), 15 (2) (d) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and punishable under Section 15(3) of the same Act.
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