Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa August 2013 | Page 54

AFRICA LISTED

BY JULIE ETHERIDGE

Beat The

Invest in funds in Africa

A

frica features prominently on asset
managers’ radars for its emerging
market growth and return prospects.
There are myriad investment opportunities in
the continent’s 50-plus country markets that
offer yields way in excess of those on offer in the
developed world.
Property is one of the asset classes singled
out by Sanlam Investments with potential to
deliver double-digit dollar returns. The group’s
Africa Core Real Estate Fund – launched in
February 2013 and listed on the Mauritian
stock exchange in May – is paving the way for
retail investors to potentially gain a foothold in
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August 2013 SA Real Estate Investor

a market typically reserved for institutions and
ultra-high net worth individuals.
The fund is similar in nature to locally
listed proper t y companies and operates
as an income fund, better understood by
international investors as a Retail Estate
Investment Trust (REIT). REITs invest in
and own properties and generate revenues
from rentals on these properties.
The fund allows local and international
investors to invest in high quality retail and
commercial real estate assets across select
sub-Saharan African countries (excluding

South A frica). Initia l investments have
been made in Ghana and Tanzania with
transactions being evaluated in Nigeria,
Kenya and Mozambique.
“There is a massive supply and demand
imbalance for quality real estate across the
subcontinent,” says Johan van der Merwe,
CEO of Sa n la m Invest ments.Grow ing
populations and rapid urbanisation combined
with improved per capita income has ignited
an Africa-wide retail property boom. The
demand for quality office space is also on the
rise as large multinationals chase oil, gas and
commodity opportunities across the region.
www.reimag.co.za