UBA to Invest $2 Billion in Power Sector

(photo):GMD, UBA, Mr. Phillips Oduoza

United Bank for Africa (UBA) has invested $700 million this year in financing power assets in the country and plans to put $2 billion into power projects across the continent over the next three years, its Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Phillips Oduoza said.

Oduoza also said he expected the bank to grow loans by around 14 percent in the next six months, as it had done in the last six months.

"We have been financing different parts of the power sector both generation and distribution. We are looking to invest in Nigeria and across Africa with around $2 billion in the next three years," Oduoza told Reuters on the sidelines of the Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja.

Of that, he said around $1.2 billion would be earmarked for Nigeria which faces perennial power shortages as demand outstrips supply, forcing those who can afford it to rely on diesel generators.

UBA had said it expected to grow its loan book by 30 per cent this year, up from six per cent in 2012, as it targets consumer and infrastructure financing.

"The top line loan growth by first half was about 14 per cent for the next half we are expecting about the same thing," Oduoza said.

He added that African countries outside Nigeria continued to be a growing part of the business, expected to be between 22 and 25 per cent this year, up from 19 percent last year.