United Bank for Africa Plc is working together with Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, the political risk insurance and credit enhancement arm of the World Bank Group, to mobilise capital for infrastructure projects in Africa.
A statement by UBA on Tuesday stated that the Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of MIGA, Mr. Michel Wormser, announced the alliance plan with the bank during a working visit to the bank’s head office in Lagos on Monday.
Wormser said the proposed partnership with the bank would explore areas MIGA could increase its support to UBA towards increasing its investment in emerging markets in its countries of operation.
He said MIGA provided political risk insurance and credit enhancement products that could help to mobilise the bank’s investment to projects with high development impact.
“UBA is playing a prominent role as an investor in other countries in sub-Saharan Africa, and MIGA can help UBA to increase its investments in these new markets,” Wormser said.
The statement also quoted the UBA’s Group Managing Director, Mr. Phillips Oduoza, as saying that the bank’s involvement in cross border businesses across 19 African countries meant that it was well positioned to partner with MIGA.
According to him, the bank is to collaborate with MIGA on credit risk management in big ticket transactions for infrastructure projects with particular interest in power and transmission projects.
UBA had been significantly involved in the financing of the power sector privatisation exercise in the country, providing funding for different investors to acquire the distribution and generating companies sold by the Federal Government, the statement noted.
Wormser, on a three-day visit to Nigeria, identified areas where MIGA could help the country to mobilise capital for important infrastructure projects and other job-creating enterprises to meet its development goals.
As part of the visit, he would be meeting with government ministries, banks and enterprises, it stated.
It said Wormser’s meetings with government officials would focus on the nation’s infrastructure needs, especially in the area of energy and ports.
He would also meet with companies to discuss how MIGA could increase its support to Nigerian firms as they expanded their outward investment into emerging markets.
