By Joshua Worlasi AMLANU
The Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) is projecting its assets under management (AUM) to exceed US$1.5billion.
Its Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng, at a media engagement in Accra, noted that this boost is tied to ongoing revaluation efforts of mining assets, particularly the government’s 10 percent equity interests in various mining ventures.
He highlighted that the country’s mining equity interests had never been fully valued before, which is a gap MIIF aims to address.
“Our in-house revaluation actually shows an excess of US$1.5billion. If we add our current AUM of around US$520million to US$600 million, we are looking at assets under management in excess of US$1.5billion,” he stated.
He emphasised that an official announcement is pending the formalisation of the valuation process by one of the big four audit firms.
This anticipated growth in AUM is expected to enhance MIIF’s capacity to engage in larger co-investment projects; thus, expanding the country’s investment footprint.
Explaining further, Mr. Koranteng said: “Having your AUM at US$1.5billion speaks well of your balance sheet and expands the opportunities for Ghana. The Government of Ghana can leverage our balance sheet in many ways”.
MIIF has seen a remarkable 400 percent growth in its AUM, from GH¢1.7billion in January 2022 to GH¢8.7billion as of the third quarter of this year. This growth is primarily driven by royalties and investment income, with significant untapped potential in unvalued free-carried interests in major mining assets.
The CEO further explained that with a strengthened balance sheet, the fund could diversify its investments and reduce exposure to the volatility of gold prices.
“Currently, 95 percent of our royalties come from the gold sector; but we need to diversify,” he said, pointing to potential investments in other minerals like salt, graphite and lithium.
MIIF’s strategy is to encourage local participation in the mining sector. He noted that listing mining companies like Asante Gold and Atlantic Lithium on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) is a step toward allowing Ghanaians to own shares in these entities.
MIIF has committed to transforming the small-scale mining sector through its Small-Scale Mining Incubation Programme (SMIP). This initiative aims to formalise and support small-scale miners, providing them with machinery, governance structures and a market for their gold, thereby reducing reliance on foreign intermediaries who often buy gold at discounted rates.
“If we formalise this sector properly, the economic transformation could be significant,” the CEO said, citing an estimated annual loss of US$2billion due to current informal practices.
He believes that proper formalisation and listing of small-scale mining entities on the GSE could quadruple their contributions to the economy, aligning with MIIF’s broader transformation agenda.
