Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa November 2013

REI Commercial Gautrain Will Provide Exciting Opportunities Unlike the scepticism that met the announcement of the initial 80km of Gautrain’s routes, the additional 140km announced by Gautrain, as part of the 25-year Transport Plan for Gauteng has been excitedly received, even though building is only likely to being in several years’ time. And this immediately begs the question about whether there are any investment opportunities that this announcement creates? Funders Can Make Returns Banks’ limited ability to finance long-term projects opens up opportunities for other types of funders to make returns and help SA implement its R3.4 trillion infrastructure programme. As infrastru cture development is critically important for South Africa’s economic growth‚ it cannot be left for governments and the banks to “go it alone”‚ Mergence Investment Managers portfolio manager Mark van Wyk said. Valuable Input Morne Wilken, CEO, Attacq “Listing Attacq has provided an opportunity for investors to share in a unique long-term sustainable real estate capital growth fund with a successful track record.” www.reimag.co.za Marna van der Walt, CEO, EPS “Our ongoing strategy is to continue to increase our presence and activities in the retail property management sector on the African continent and we are committed to securing the best strategic retail letting skills in the region.” Gielie Visser, Director, JHI Properties in Africa “Developments on the continent are increasing in size and sophistication, which is not surprising given the size of the market.” Don't Blame Rising Bond Yields High volatility in SA’s listed property sector over the past year has largely been blamed on rising bond yields, which conventional wisdom says is bad for property returns. But more and more research shows that there is little empirical support for this thinking and that in some cases, rising bond yields and improving property returns can take place in parallel. November 2013 SA Real Estate Investor 39

Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa November 2013 | Page 43