€6.8bn Ireland Fund could double in value: managers

The new €6.8bn Ireland Strategic Investment Fund could effectively double in value with the addition of third party capital investment, its managers said yesterday.

The fund, which was formally launched yesterday, will be managed by the NTMA and will act as a replacement to the National Pension Reserve Fund (NPRF), and change from being a long-term pension fund to an investment fund focused on domestic investment.

NPRF director Eugene O’Callaghan said the fund was now “open for business” and actively looking for investment opportunities. He noted that around €1.3bn had already been assigned to projects, with additional third party capital of over €1.5bn already committed.

Mr O’Callaghan said a pipeline of between 50 and 60 investment opportunities was being reviewed.

“The variety of investment partners, sectors and types of investment in what we’ve done so far demonstrates that we’re taking an open-minded and flexible approach and that will continue,” he said.

The NTMA plans to deploy the entire €6.8bn fund over the coming five years and estimates that additional third party investment attracted by the initial fund’s moves could boost overall investment in domestic projects to between €12bn and €15bn.

The fund’s pipeline includes investment opportunities linked to SME financing, private equity and venture capital investments and infrastructure, including schools and road projects. It will invest both directly and via third party managers and expects to act as a catalyst for attracting additional capital from other sources. It recently inked a $100m joint fund with China’s main sovereign investment fund.

“This is just the start for the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund,” Finance Minister Michael Noonan said yesterday.

“The fund will have a broad mandate to make commercial investments that support economic activity and employment in Ireland.

“The commercial mandate of the fund will ensure that the investment generates a return, attracts other investors and recycles funds for future generations,” he said.