Banque Misr plans to launch a new real estate fund worth half a billion pounds

An official at Banque Misr said today, Monday, that the bank intends to launch a new real estate investment fund, with investments amounting to about 500 million pounds, in the first quarter of 2024.

Investing in existing housing 

The official explained that the new fund aims to focus on investing in existing housing units without entering into real estate under construction and development.

Mixed-use projects recorded the residential real estate component about 522 projects under construction, with a value of about $310 billion, according to Property Finder website. 

Property Finder said that these projects have reached advanced stages of development, as the construction operations in almost half of them exceeded about 50% of the constructions.

Real estate investments

One of the most prominent investment destinations for these projects is Cairo Governorate, which attracted about 59% of the total value of residential real estate investments, followed by Giza Governorate with about 15%.

During the first quarter of 2023, 8 developers launched nine projects in four Egyptian governorates, at a total cost of $1 billion, with expectations to reach 15 projects in the next quarter of the year, according to the online platform specialized in the real estate sector in the Middle East and North Africa region “Property Finder” report.

It is worth noting that Banque Misr launched last December its first real estate investment fund in partnership with Banque du Caire, Misr Insurance Holding Company and Allianz Insurance, with an initial value of 360 million pounds, most of which was spent on purchasing various commercial units owned by the Talaat Moustafa Group in the “Al-Rehab” and “Madinaty” projects.

Investment certificates

Banque Misr and Al-Ahly Bank, the largest Egyptian government banks, announced, on Tuesday, the issuance of two new investment certificates in dollars, with a record return of up to 7 percent, which comes as part of the country’s attempts to support its scarce hard currency resources.

The first dollar certificate is “Al-Ahly Plus”, which has a duration of 3 years, and provides an annual return of 7 percent, which is paid quarterly (every 3 months) in the same currency.

- It is permissible to borrow against the guarantee of certificates up to 50 percent of their value in Egyptian pounds, for investment purposes, and a maximum of 10 million pounds, at a return rate of 2.25 percent less than the Central Bank’s lending rate.

- The second dollar certificate is “Al-Ahly Immediately”, and it has a period of 3 years, with an annual return of 9 percent. 

National Bank

It is paid in advance in “Egyptian pounds” for the entire period, at 27 percent of the value of the certificate. It is not permissible to borrow against its guarantee, and the certificate shall be retrieved on the maturity date in the same US dollar currency.

The minimum amount for purchasing certificates is one thousand dollars and its multiples, and the return is calculated from the working day following the day of purchase, and its value can be redeemed after 6 months have passed from the date of purchase, and it is available for purchase as of Wednesday.

The National Bank also announced the provision of personal loans to Egyptians working abroad, with a guarantee of transferring the equivalent value of the installment in foreign currency from abroad, with a minimum loan of 50 thousand pounds, and a maximum of 3 million pounds, so that the installments are paid by giving up foreign currencies according to the exchange rate announced at the time of payment, at an interest rate of 2.25 percent less than the lending rate of the Central Bank of Egypt, at the time of obtaining the loan, and for a period of up to 4 years.