Credicorp Capital and SURA Asset Management partner in order to fund infrastructure projects in Latin America
• Credicorp Capital and SURA Asset Management entered into a regional agreement that will allow moving, initially, private resources to roadway infrastructure projects through the "Private Equity Fund, 4G" (fourth generation) in Colombia, which is expected to be replicated in other countries within the Region in the future.
• SURA Asset Management, subsidiary of Grupo SURA, is the biggest non-banking financial asset manager in Latin America, being a specialist in saving, protection and investment products that is present in six countries in the Region. On the other hand, Credicorp Capital is the regional platform to do investment banking, capital market, trust and asset management businesses of Credicorp Ltd. (NYSE:BAP), the leading financial holding in the Andean Region.
Bogotá, January 26th 2016 – Christian Laub, CEO Credicorp Capital, and Andrés Castro, CEO of SURA Asset Management in Latin America, today announced a strategic alliance intended to develop major infrastructure projects that will allow moving private resources into the development of initiatives having a great impact on the economy and growth of the countries in the Region.
The partnership of these two large Multi-Latin companies is a contribution to the economic development through a strategic project, which materializes its first stage with the Private Equity Fund 4G Credicorp Capital / SURA Asset Management in Colombia. This Fund's resources amount to COP 1.3 billion (about USD$400 million), focused on roadway infrastructure projects in Colombia through direct funding by participating in the syndicated loans of the fourth generation (4G) highway projects.
"Colombia has initiated an ambitious roadway infrastructure development that requires high investment. We are firmly committed to help accelerate the financing of these large infrastructure projects that will certainly contribute to national development by enhancing its competitiveness at regional level" , said Andrés Castro CEO of SURA Asset Management in Latin America.
In turn, Christian Laub, CEO of Credicorp Capital, said that "channeling resources from the private sector to infrastructure projects not only leads to an adequate return for investors, but also to high social returns. Therefore, it is critical to have very solid teams for investment decisions, joining the talents and experience of Credicorp Capital and SURA Asset Management, whose specialists are in the main countries of the region."
The professional manager of this Fund is a company incorporated under equal shares by both entities that have, as fund investors, additionally contributed their own capital amounting to COP 150,000 million (approximately USD$48 million), as a signal of confidence in the structure created and as a mechanism aligning the interests with other investors involved. Sumatoria Gestión de Activos SAS will be in charge of the Fund management and legal representation for investment advisory through one of its partners, Mario Dib, an expert in the field of roadway infrastructure, who will lead the structuring and project management in which the Fund will participate.
The Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas said, at the launch held today in Bogota, "we launched jointly with SURA (Colombia) Credicorp (Peru) and NDF IFC, a fund amounting to $ 1.3 billion intended to finance the Fourth Generation (4G) infrastructure program, which will add 0.4 percentage points to the economic growth and, most importantly, will generate formal and quality employment for Colombians."
Among the Fund's investors are the pension funds, insurance companies and International Financial Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank Group, whose global experience in infrastructure financial matters means a strong support for the Fund. "This investment will be decisive in order to finance infrastructure and to develop the capital market in Colombia", said Carlos Pinto, in charge of IFC for the Andean Region. "This new fund will help overcome one of the key challenges that Colombia is facing today and illustrates the role of IFC in finding solutions intended to finance infrastructure projects that a critical for emerging economies" he added.
The investment thesis of the Private Equity Fund 4G Credicorp Capital / SURA Asset Management is based on the ambitious roadway infrastructure development in Colombia that requires high investment amounts, which, at present value, exceed COP$50 billion (about USD$16 thousand million). These resources will be allocated into 40 projects and will imply intervening more than 7,000 Km of roadways.
Both regional leaders announce that the partnership is already working on launching a fund in Peru as they agree that this alliance will also help contribute to the infrastructure development of this country, which will provide, in turn, attractive returns for local and foreign investors.
About SURA Asset Management
SURA Asset Management is a Latin American company with operations in Pensions, Savings and Investments in Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay and El Salvador. It is a subsidiary of SURA Group and five minority shareholders: International Financial Corporation (IFC), member of the World Bank Group, Bolivar Group, Bancolombia, International Investment Fund - General Atlantic, and Wiese Group. As of September 2015, SURA Asset Management's AUM amounts to USD$102.6 billion, which belong to 17.3 million customers.
About Credicorp Capital
Credicorp Capital is the regional platform to do business in investment banking, capital market, trust and asset management of Credicorp Ltd. in Colombia, Peru, Chile and USA. Credicorp Capital is leader in the region encompassed by MILA (Latin American Integrated Market) in corporate finances and M&A, asset management, capital market and trust businesses, managing more than USD$8,850 million at closing of October 2015 in liquid assets and alternative assets.