Danish labour-market pension funds PensionDanmark and PKA are investing DKK200m (€26.8m) apiece in fund aimed at directing money into projects and businesses helping to increase food production in developing countries, the pension funds said.

The newly established investment fund, called the Danish Agribusiness Fund (DAF), will back projects where Danish agricultural and food production companies are either co-investors or suppliers of technology and know-how, the pension funds said.

The total capital commitment to the new fund is DKK700m with DKK211m coming from IFU, the Danish investment fund for developing countries, and DKK89m from the Danish government.

In a second closing, the fund expects to raise a further DKK100m.

Torben Möger Pedersen, chief executive of PensionDanmark, said: “As with the Danish Climate Investment Fund (Klimainvesteringsfonden), the Danish Agribusiness Fund is a good example of how public and private capital can work together to solve global societal challenges in a way that benefits Danish businesses and investors.”

Two years ago, PensionDanmark and PKA invested in the Danish Climate Investment Fund, set up to invest in renewable energy projects in emerging economies.

The DAF will be run by IFU, which has had experience of around 1,200 investments in more than 100 developing countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and parts of Europe.

The new fund will invest equity capital in projects in these regions.

PKA said the fund would be run on commercial terms and ensure its investors a competitive return.

In other Nordic news, Oslo Pensjonsforsikring (OPF) said it was buying Herøya Industripark, a large industrial facility on the southern Norwegian coast.

Although the NOK78bn (€8bn) Norwegian local public sector pension fund did not say how much it paid for the asset, it said the seller – aluminium and hydroelectric power company Norsk Hydro – was expected to make a book gain of approximately NOK350m from the deal.

Norsk Hydro is selling the industrial park because, over the years, it has shed many of the business sectors it used to be in and now has no production facilities left at Herøya, once its biggest production site.

There are now approximately 80 companies operating at the site, with 2,500 staff.

Kjetil Houg, investment director at OPF, said: “Herøya Industripark is a good addition to our portfolio and we look forward to taking part in the ownership and development of one of the core areas for the onshore processing industry in Norway.”

Norsk Hydro said it had been in talks with several bidders for the industrial park since June last year.

The park will be operated and developed by a property management to be created using the 16 Norsk Hydro staff directly affected by the sale.

This new company will then work with OPF, as well as other owners who have experience managing and developing industrial and business parks in Norway, OPF said.

Norwegian real estate company FG Eiendom will also have a central role as a partner of the property management company, it said.

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