NH Investment & Securities Participates in 25 Trillion KRW UAE Gas Pipeline Investment

The Largest Infrastructure Investment Ever by a Domestic Securities Firm
NH Investment & Securities to Hold About 6% Stake in SPC

Jung Young-chae (center of the bottom row), President of NH Investment & Securities, along with consortium officials involved in the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) pipeline deal, are signing the investment contract after finalizing it. (Photo by ADNOC website)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Bo-ryeong] NH Investment & Securities will participate in a $20.7 billion (approximately 25 trillion KRW) investment in a natural gas pipeline project in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

On the 23rd (local time), according to Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) of the UAE, a consortium including NH Investment & Securities finalized the share purchase agreement for the special purpose company (SPC) leasing ADNOC-owned gas pipelines. The consortium consists of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a US infrastructure-focused private equity fund, Canadian alternative investment manager Brookfield Asset Management, Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan from Canada, and Italian infrastructure fund manager Snam.

The consortium, including NH Investment & Securities, will acquire a 49% stake in the SPC established by ADNOC. The acquisition price for the 49% stake is about $10.1 billion, with NH Investment & Securities holding approximately 6% of the SPC shares. The investment amount is about 1.6 trillion KRW. NH Investment & Securities plans to first secure loans from global banks for funding and then resell the remaining shares to institutional investors.

The gas pipeline system consists of 38 pipelines with a total length of 982.3 km. The consortium will own the lease rights to these pipelines. The investment period is 20 years. ADNOC will retain a 51% stake and continue to be responsible for overall operation management and capital expenditures.

This is the largest infrastructure investment by a domestic securities firm to date. Previously, the largest scale was the acquisition of a 40% stake in the Dunkirk LNG terminal in France by a consortium including Samsung Securities, Hanwha Investment & Securities, and Samsung Asset Management in 2018, with an investment of about 850 billion KRW.

Jung Young-chae, CEO of NH Investment & Securities, said, "We believe this opportunity will serve as a stepping stone to expand the base of Korean investment companies in the Middle East region."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.