(AFP Photo)
By Hossam Mounier
The Egyptian Arab Land Bank is considering establishing a real estate investment fund, according to the Bank chairman’s adviser of the treasury sector, Mohamed El-Beik.
The fund is to invest in real estate assets owned by the bank, in addition to other real estate projects, El-Beik said.
He explained that the bank will establish a company with an initial capital of EGP 5m to establish the fund.
El-Beik added that the bank is currently considering laws to organise the work of real estate funds, while taking into consideration the views of directors of several investment funds regarding the benefits of establishing the fund at this point.
He added that it has been decided that the subscription for this fund will be opened with a minimum fee of EGP 100 per subscription document. After covering the subscription, the fund will be closed and its documents will be traded on the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX).
The fund will invest 20%-30% of its capital in the activity of real estate development, and the rest will be invested in projects that generate periodic revenues like buying real estate assets and renting them, according to El-Beik.
El-Beik confirmed that now is a suitable time for the establishment of such real estate funds, especially in light of the real estate sector’s significant activity.
The bank launched its first fund, run by the Alfa Investment Fund, at the end of February 2013, investing in fixed income tools.
The fund’s capital reached EGP 650m within less than a year of its launching, compared to EGP 50m when it was first launched, according to El-Beik.
