Egyptian Arab Land Bank Braces for its First Real Estate Fund

Egyptian Arab Land Bank (EALB) will be launching a new company soon, aiming at the establishment and management of its first real estate investment fund.

EALB chairman Abdel Meguid Mohy El-Din, explained to Amwal Al Ghad that as pursuant to the Egyptian regulations, banks are required to found a new company, responsible for the establishment and management of real estate funds.

The bank is currently studying a number of bids from investment banks so as to manage the issuance of EALB’s real estate fund, he added.

Mohy El-Din further said the capital of EALB’s real estate fund is expected to exceed 250 million Egyptian pounds. The fund is set to invest in both owned and rented properties, he noted.

Earlier in April, Egypt’s Egypt’s financial market regulator, seeking to attract capital back to the stock market, has released rules to facilitate the creation of real estate funds. At that time, Sherif Samy – head of the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA) – said the changes would increase liquidity in the market and draw more local and foreign investors. The rules included permissible levels for income-generating assets as a percentage of each fund’s total assets.

Last year, EALB launched its first investment fund, with an initial capital of 50 million pounds, aimed to invest in the governmental debt instruments i.e. treasury bonds and treasury bills. The subscription was covered 520% with a total amount of 260 million for EALB’s first investment fund.