17 June 2015, Lagos – As part of its contribution to give Nigeria’s infrastructure a facelift, Heritage Bank Limited said it had continued to support both private finance initiatives (PFI) and public-private partnerships (PPP).
This, according to the bank is to help meet the funding challenge in the country.
It stated that since its foray into the Nigerian financial sector in the last 24 months, it had played a pivotal and leading role in the equity and project financing market, arranging in excess of $2 billion of debt facilities either as lead or sole financier or financial adviser.
Sectors that have benefited from this, according to a statement from the bank are the entertainment and arts, education, oil and gas, aviation and haulage, micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) and public sector.
For instance, the bank said it mid-wifed over $100 Million in funding for a variety of transactions in the film and entertainment industry from 2013 to date. These included Bloomberg TV Africa (the Pan African TV by Bloomberg LLP), Free-to-Air TV Broadcast Rights in Nigeria for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, HIP TV (a Pan African TV Music Channel broadcast on satellite TV which was funded from scratch) and a variety of other investments spanning content, platforms and production.
Also, the innovative multi-billion naira MSME Investment Protection Fund (InPF), which was a non-collateralised funding option with embedded insurance to address the default risk inherent in the SME Finance scheme, remains a strong differentiating indicator of the Heritage Bank approach to SME funding in the country.
“However, the recent successful finance of Forte Oil Plc’s acquisition of 100 brand new Mercedes Benz product delivery trucks for haulage, logistics and product transportation across the Country as well as the Project Finance Facility to PIPP LVI GENCO to set up a 6.5MegaWatts Captive Power Generating Plant and a 25km Distribution Network to power Public Utilities in Lekki, V/I and Ikoyi represent giant strides by the relatively young Heritage Bank which had already financed similar and bigger projects in Port Harcourt and Abuja in deals worth several billions of Naira in the last twelve months,” it added.
Speaking on the significance of Heritage Bank’s project finance initiatives, Executive Director, Manila Banking, Niyi Adeseun noted that, “For us at Heritage Bank, our core business philosophy as a timeless wealth partner to our customers is captured in our mission to create, transfer and preserve wealth.
“Our support efforts through project financing in the various sectors of the economy is one of the platforms that underscore our resolve and readiness to make a mark in the financial sector as a major pivot of socio-economic transformation of our country.”- thisday.
