Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria – CBN – disclosed on Tuesday in Abuja, at the annual banking and finance conference organized by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, that the Central Bank of Nigeria will in October 2021 unveil the InfraCorp Plc, a special purpose vehicle for advancing the N15trn Infrastructure Fund.
He said that the project, which was conceptualized by the CBN alongside African Finance Corporation and the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, will help to address the challenge of infrastructure deficit in the country, according to the report in the PUNCH newspaper.
He said, “In this regard, I am pleased to announce that InfraCorp, the infrastructure company being created by the CBN, African Finance Corporation and the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority to raise N15trn, will be unveiled in October, 2021.
“InfraCorp would enable the use of mostly private capital to support infrastructure investment that will have a multiplier effect on growth across critical sectors,” Emefiele said.
To consolidate on the growth and resilience of Nigerian Banks in the last decade, he said that the Central Bank, will, in the next 12 months, be establishing the Nigerian International Financial Centre.
The NIFC, according to Emefiele, will act as an international gateway for capital and investments, driven by technology and payment system infrastructure.
National theatre creative hubs for our youths as well as the e-naira project which will also debut in October 2021. The NIFC will take advantage of our existing laws such as the BOFIA 2020, NEPZA and other CBN regulations to create a fully global investment and financial hub where monies, ideas, and technology will move freely without hindrance.
This new financial hub, he noted, will curate local and international banks to make them global champions.
He said the NIFC will be a 24/7 Financial centre that will complement London, New York and Singapore financial centers and enable an acceleration of Nigeria’s home grown initiatives such as the Infracorp Plc.
The NIFC, he noted, will also complement the CBN’s initiatives on the Nigerian Commodity exchange and the National Theatre creative hubs for our youths as well as the e-naira project which will also debut in October 2021.
