Banque Misr, Banque du Caire, Misr Insurance Holding Group, Allianz Egypt launch Real Estate Investment Fund 1

Banque Misr  and Banque du Caire, Misr in collaboration with  Insurance Holding Group, Allianz Egypt, launched the Misr Real Estate Investment Fund 1, which will invest in commercial real estate assets with a periodic return.

The fund will be allowing a new investment mechanism in the real estate market.

This mechanism will enable investors to invest in direct real estate as well as distribute risks on several properties owned by the fund.

Egyptian and multinational financial institutions subscribed in the first issuance with a value of EGP 360m of the total target fund size of EGP 500m and the contribution of Banque Misr, Banque du Caire, Misr Insurance Holding Group, and its subsidiaries amounting to EGP 100m, while the contribution of Allianz Egypt amounted to EGP 60m.

The fund also signed a deal to purchase commercial real estate assets from Talaat Moustafa Group in Al-Rehab City and Madinaty, which are characterised by high purchasing power and a continuous growth rate after Misr Investment Funds Management Company — the fund manager — studied those assets from all commercial, financial, and other aspects.

Mohamed El-Etreby — Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Banque Misr — said that the launch of this fund comes at the forefront of a series of real estate funds that Misr Investment Funds Management intends to issue.

The Egyptian economy’s — especially since the real estate sector is among the most important sectors affecting the Egyptian economy — rise is reflected in the renaissance of all other economic sectors in light of an integrated environmental system, which contributes to the implementation of the country’s sustainable development plans, as Banque Misr believes in the necessity of concerted efforts for supporting the state’s plans to achieve sustainable development.

Hisham Talaat Mustafa — CEO and Managing Director of Talaat Moustafa Holding Group — stressed the importance of launching a real estate investment fund to achieve rewarding returns for shareholders in light of what studies have proven that real estate investment is the highest return compared to other savings vessels, and the fund also contributes to providing liquidity for developers to expand existing projects and develop new ones.

For his part, Akef Al-Maghrabi — Vice Chairperson of Banque Misr — said that the fund was established with the aim of providing a new savings and investment vessel for Egyptian investors in light of the bank’s keenness to enhance the existence of sufficient investment mechanisms available to investors in the Egyptian market, pointing out that investing in the real estate fund came within the framework of the bank’s support for the state’s plan to revitalise the Egyptian economy, specifically the real estate sector, as it is a strategic sector linked to several industrial and service sectors.

Tarek Fayed — Chairperson and CEO of Banque du Caire — said that the bank’s participation in the fund represents a strategic developmental dimension that would benefit the financing of the real estate market in Egypt and the Egyptian economy as a whole, given that the fund is a new tool to be offered in the Egyptian market, indicating that the launch of the fund represents a distinct investment opportunity in line with Banque du Caire’s investment policy, which focuses on providing a package of non-banking financial services.

For his part, Bahaa Al-Shafei — Executive Vice-Chairperson of the Board of Directors — said that Banque du Caire’s contribution to the fund comes within the framework of diversifying the bank’s investment portfolio and completing its services package after the establishment of the Cairo Exchange, Cairo Financial Leasing, Tally Digital Payments, and the acquisition of a stake of IBAG, as well as the investment funds in which the bank contributes to support entrepreneurs in many fields, most notably the fintech sector.

He also pointed out that Banque du Caire owns about 20% of the shares of Misr Company for Managing Investment Funds, while the bank’s share in the Egypt Real Estate Investment Fund is about EGP 100m.

Furthermore, Basil Al-Heny — Chairperson of Misr Insurance Holding — explained that the group’s participation with an amount of EGP 100m in the establishment of Misr Real Estate Investment Fund 1 comes within the framework of the group’s strategy to focus on real estate investment, as the group owns the largest institutional real estate portfolio in Egypt.

“Participation in the fund came as a continuation of the successful strategic partnership between Allianz and Banque Misr, which extends for more than 20 years, and we are always looking for safe investment opportunities that will have a good return for them, which we found in investing in the real estate market due to its size and diversity, which provides good investment opportunities in the medium and long term,” said Ayman Hegazy — Chairperson of the Board of Directors of Allianz Egypt.

Finally, Khaled Hegazy — Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Egypt Real Estate Investment Fund Company — indicated that the state intervened to amend some procedures to regulate the controls of the work of these funds in the market to encourage the establishment of real estate funds, represented in the amendments to the regulations and laws issued by the authority — which reduced many procedures — and the initiatives of the Central Bank of Egypt in Real Estate Finance, in addition to facilitating the process of registering real estate. He stressed that this will lead to an increase in the interest of investors to enter this industry.