The Government Institutions Pensions Fund (GIPF) says it has approved N$72 million to be invested towards the construction of an oxygen plant in the country.
This coms as the GIPF has invested just over N$94 million into the health sector through its unlisted investment programme which commenced in 2011 with N$8.89 billion capital committed to date, of which N$3.71 billion is still available for investment.
The investment, which is subject to an offtake agreement being in place, is expected to be made through one of its approved fund managers, with a mandate to invest in such sectors.
“Yes, the GIPF plans to move ahead with this and has made an equity investment decision of up to N$72 million, which can then be leveraged for a higher total investment, should the need arise. The Fund will invest subject to offtake agreement being realized. The Fund has identified a fund manager tasked to identify investment opportunities in both the public or private sectors,” GIPF CEO and Principal Officer, David Nuyoma said in response to an inquiry from The Brief.
He said the fund did not have any preferences for whom to partner or the project.
“The GIPF is not dictating which entity to partner with but will work with both the public and private sector service providers in securing the local production of oxygen by reputable entities who have the capacity to do so,” the GIPF CEO said.
On the targeted size of the plant, Nuyoma said, “the details to this can only be ascertained once a public or private sector partner is engaged by the GIPF’s appointed fund manager.”
Nuyoma said its planned investment into oxygen production was viable because of its continued use for medical purposes beyond COVID-19.
“It must be stressed that the need to ensure the security of local oxygen production capacity exists beyond COVID-19. Prior to and post COVID-19, Oxygen was and will remain an integral part of the patient base treatment protocols. The need for oxygen gas has been on the rise, and with the advent of COVID-19, the demand has grown exponentially, highlighting the shortages in developing economies worldwide. The COVID-19 challenge has created a deficiency in oxygen supply to most healthcare facilities in Namibia,” he said.
Nuyoma ,however, admitted the negative impact that COVID-19 had on its investments, a position which it has now recovered from.
“At the end of March 2020, at the height of the pandemic, the value of the Fund’s investments experienced quite a markdown, but it was all recovered in the period to date. Covid brought volatility, and when investors such as the GIPF stuck to their investment strategy, they were handsomely rewarded,” he said.
“With the advent of Covid-19 during January 2020 till March 2020, the GIPF market value decreased from N$122.4b to N$108.3b, mainly attributable to the adverse impact of the pandemic on the financial markets especially in March 2020 when there was a global economic shutdown, subsequently in April 2020, we experienced a remarkable recovery to near pre-Covid levels with the GIPF market value increasing to N$117.4b. Since then, the markets have been resilient and as at the end of the previous financial year end, the market value had increased to N$134.9b and a year-to-year recovery of 26.7% from March 2020 to March 2021. As of September 2021, the market value currently stands at N$142.3b. This is attributable to our robust Liability Driven Investment strategy.”
