Why Do International Investors Always Compare Naija With Small African Countries

I really feel hurt when i read this. Nigeria, the true African giant is lumped together with countries such as Kenya, uganda and Malawi. Is France or Germany comparing itself with countries such as Croatia, Ukraine or Georgia? Investors are still too shy with regard to our country and they have not realised that Africa will never ever economically take off without Nigeria.

Fund to invest $100m in African real estate

By Jim Pickard in London

Published: October 5 2006 03:00 | Last updated: October 5 2006 03:00

In the world of international real estate, most of Africa is off the map - 

But a new $100m (€78.5m, £53m) fund is set to buck the trend by payrolling new property developments across much of the continent.



Set up by CDC, an emerging markets investor backed by the British government, the pioneering fund is likely to be watched closely by the global property industry, which has become increasingly adventurous in recent months.

Fund managers, developers and real estate investors are pouring ever more money into regions that used to be out of bounds; central and South America, Asia and the more remote parts of eastern Europe.

Should CDC's new vehicle, the Actis Africa Real Estate Fund, prove successful it may set a striking precedent.

Though based in Johannesburg the fund will not invest in South Africa, which has an increasingly sophisticated - and expensive - property market.

Last month saw the sale of the Victoria & Albert Waterfront in Cape Town for $1bn to Dubai World and Ian and Richard Livingstone, a secretive pair of London-based brothers.

Meanwhile commercial property prices rose 30.1 per cent last year in South Africa - the fastest ascent anywhere in the world - according to figures from Investment Property Databank, the research firm.

By contrast, the CDC fund will target less developed countries in western and southern Africa such as Nigeria, Malawi and Mozambique.  :(It will be managed by Actis, a private equity firm that was spun out of CDC, formerly known as the Commonwealth Development Corporation. Actis is now an independent firm backed by 25 investors.

The team will be headed by Mike Williams, former head of African property at Standard Bank Properties.

The fund will begin life with $50m of properties already owned by Actis, including a "western-style" mall in Lagos,  :Pthe commercial capital of Nigeria, and another in Ghana. It will also include properties in Nairobi, Kampala  :Pand Dar es Salaam  :(and an early-stage retail scheme in Accra.

Rod Evison, CDC's portfolio director for Africa, said the region was currently a no-go area for most international property investors.

"There may be money coming back from members of the diaspora, going into residential property, but in terms of commercial property it is really a local game," he said. "There isn't an industry of professional property developers."

Mr Evison said the vehicle could lay the groundwork for future funds which could be opened up to outside investors. "Other ideas could be whether we set up vehicles listed in Johannesburg or somewhere else."

CDC already has a large number of financial funds in Africa, most of which are private equity vehicles. This is its first property fund.

So which countries should Nigeria be compared with, then?

thinking*
the data available has not been updated so therefore they are still used for Nigeria, the only updated data are those of the oil sector. when there is a boom in the industry then I'm sure they will rush in. i heard there are new development in Abuja with mortgage facilities