Africa investor CEO Infrastructure and Sovereign Investment Summit and Awards engages Africa’s sovereign wealth and pension funds on infrastructure co-investments
Cape Town, South Africa; 4 June 2015: Africa investor (Ai), a leading international investment and communications group, yesterday successfully closed the 8th Africa investor (Ai) CEO Infrastructure and Sovereign Investment Summit and Awards in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Summit gathered and engaged over 200 leaders, and heard from sovereign investors such as sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, and strategic investment funds evaluating co-investment proposals and opportunities across key sectors such as energy and transport infrastructure investments, as well as regional PIDA projects such as the LAPSETT Corridor.
The exclusive Ai Leaders’ Summit also drew some high-level recommendations for the UN FfD process from its business and government leaders speakers, which included: Uche Orji, CEO, Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority; Amadou Hott, CEO, FONSIS (Senegal’s Sovereign Investment Fund), Nicolas J. Firzli, Director-General, World Pensions Council; Bob Diamond, CEO and Founder, Atlas Merchant Capital; Bertrand Badre, CFO and Managing Director, World Bank Group; Elizabeth L. Littlefield, President and CEO, OPIC; Keiko Honda, Executive Vice-President and CEO, MIGA; Dana Hyde, CEO, Millennium Challenge Corporation, and capital market leaders from Africa’s pension fund community along with speakers from the JSE, the BRVM, and Angola’s stock exchange, amongst many other African and international infrastructure investment and finance leaders.
The Ai CEO Infrastructure and Sovereign Investment Summit and Awards took place at the Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town, South Africa. The lead Summit partner was the African Development Bank along with other supporting partners such as Bunengi Group, Rand Merchant Bank, the National Empowerment Fund, NEPAD, the African Union Commission, AfricaPLC, the African Business Roundtable, World Pensions Council, European Development Finance Institutions, Quadrant PR, and AllAfrica.
Commenting on the Summit, Hubert Danso, CEO and Vice Chairman of Africa investor said, “Building trust amongst African and international pension and sovereign wealth funds to reduce investment risk and increase allocations to African infrastructure investments is critical if the continent is to implement its regional infrastructure investment agenda and unlock its global industrial competitiveness. Africa investor is therefore delighted to have hosted this Summit and be at the forefront of agenda through the Ai Sovereign Infrastructure Co-Investment Platform, which is designed specifically to facilitate greater allocations and the participation of the sovereign wealth and pension fund community in Africa’s unparalleled infrastructure investment opportunities.”
The annual Ai Infrastructure Investment Awards ceremony took place later in the day. Now in their 8th year, these highly sought-after Ai Infrastructure Awards formally recognised achievements across the main infrastructure sectors in Africa, and rewarded the institutions and personalities driving transactions and improving the continent’s infrastructure investment climate.
The Uganda National Roads Authority was awarded the Ai Infrastructure Regulator of the Year Award, Webber Wentzel took the Award for Ai Legal Advisor of the Year, and Fieldstone was awarded Ai Advisor of the Year. The Ai Bank Arranger of the Year went to Rand Merchant Bank, and OPIC was awarded Ai PPP Champion of the Year.
In the project category, UBA took home Ai Social Infrastructure Deal of the Year, Water Deal of the Year went to Rand Water and Rand Merchant Bank was awarded Oil and Gas Deal of the Year. Ecobank/IHS Towers shared the Award for the Ai ICT/Telecoms Deal of the Year. Ai Transport Deal of the Year went to GE Africa and Lake Turkana Wind Power Limited won Ai Power Deal of the Year.
Harith’s PAIDF 2 fund was awarded the Ai Infrastructure Fund of the Year, the Ai Regional Infrastructure Investment Initiative of the Year Award went to the African Development Bank, the Botswana Public Officers’ Pension Fund took the Ai Pension Fund Infrastructure Investment Initiative of the Year Award, and the Ai Sovereign Wealth Fund Infrastructure Investment Initiative of the Year Award went to Fundo Soberano de Angola (FSDEA) Hotel Fund.
The full winners’ list is below.
Infrastructure Investment Awards Winners 2015
CATEGORY 1 Ai Infrastructure Regulator of the Year
Uganda National Roads Authority
CATEGORY 2 Ai Legal Advisor of the Year
Webber Wentzel
CATEGORY 3 Ai Advisor of the Year
Fieldstone
CATEGORY 4 Ai Bank Arranger of the Year
Rand Merchant Bank
CATEGORY 5 Ai PPP Champion of the Year
The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC)
CATEGORY 6 Ai Social Infrastructure Deal of the Year
UBA
CATEGORY 7 Water Deal of the Year
Rand Water
CATEGORY 8 Oil and Gas Deal of the Year
Rand Merchant Bank
CATEGORY 9 Ai ICT/Telecoms Deal of the Year
Ecobank/IHS Towers
CATEGORY 10 Ai Transport Deal of the Year
GE Africa
CATEGORY 11 Ai Power Deal Of the Year
Lake Turkana Wind Power Limited
CATEGORY 12 Ai Infrastructure Fund of the Year
Harith – PAIDF 2
CATEGORY 13 Ai Ai Regional Infrastructure Investment Initiative of the Year
African Development Bank
CATEGORY 14 Ai Pension Fund Infrastructure Investment Initiative of the Year
Botswana Public Officers Pension Fund
CATEGORY 15 Ai Sovereign Wealth Fund Infrastructure Investment Initiative of the Year
Fundo Soberano de Angola (FSDEA) Hotel Fund
ENDS**
Note to Editors
For more information on the Ai CEO Infrastructure Investment Summit and Awards, contact Catherine Wright on +27 11 783 4043 or cwright@africainvestor.com.
About Africa investor – www.africainvestor.com
Africa investor is a specialist investment and communications firm advising governments, international organisations and businesses on communication strategies for capital market and foreign direct investments in Africa. Africa investor publishes Africa investor, the leading international newsstand magazine for Africa’s investment decision makers; maintains the Africa investor 40 Investors’ Index, hosts the Ai Index Series Summit & Awards and the Africa investor Infrastructure Projects Summit & Awards, among other events.
