CAF Asset Management and Ashmore receive IJGlobal Awards 2023 for financial efficiency in Colombian roads
March 14, 2024
CAF Asset Management (CAF-AM), a wholly owned subsidiary of CAF, Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, together with Ashmore, received the IJGlobal 2023 Award in the category 'Latin American Transport Deal of the Year' for the financing of the Transversal del Sisga road project in Colombia.
The Transversal del Sisga project strategically integrates the Bogotá-Tunja and Villavicencio-Yopal corridors, covering more than 137 kilometers of concession, which will improve the well-being of the population, competitiveness and productivity. CAF-AM and Ashmore participated in the initial financing of the project as lead arrangers for its construction and also in its refinancing 5 years later, which allowed, in addition to the optimization of the financial structure, an advance of profits to investors in a project that has substantially exceeded the construction risk.
"CAF-AM and Ashmore are proud to support the development of Colombia's transportation infrastructure in its role as senior long-term lender in the Transversal del Sisga project with a 30% share of the total financing equivalent to COP 942 billion (approximately USD 241 million). The mobilization of private capital that we have achieved has allowed us to reach financial closure and efficient refinancing, allowing long-term development projects to have a direct impact on the well-being of Colombians," said Alberto Ñecco, general manager of CAF-AM.
CAF-AM has been a pioneer in the deployment of this type of solutions in the region with successful experiences in Colombia and Uruguay in the management of private capital funds -mainly pension funds- for more than USD 1.2 billion. These funds have made it possible to advance highway projects such as the 4G in Colombia and more than 200 educational institutions, road projects and the central railroad in Uruguay.
As part of its expansion strategy, on February 13, CAF-AM began activities in Costa Rica to mobilize resources for infrastructure projects and public services through a Senior Risk Capital Investment Fund for Infrastructure, which will improve the supply of long-term financing in local currency and is aimed at institutional investors, including pension funds, insurance companies, family offices, among others.
In addition, on February 29, it placed the new financial trust fund for infrastructure debt in Uruguay V CAF-AM, for a total amount of 2,000 million Indexed Units (UI), equivalent to approximately USD 300 million, which will be used to finance infrastructure projects in the country with senior debt for a maximum term of 30 years. In this case, demand was more than double the available supply of debt securities.