BILLIONS READY FOR INVESTMENT SAYS TOP ECONOMIST

June 4, 2018, Harare. Hosted by Africa’s premier investment and real estate development conference producer, API Events, the ZimReal Property Investment Forum on the 13^th of June is a keenly anticipated event for the local industry and regional investors said host Kfir Rusin.

“We’ve received a lot of interest both from local stakeholders from both the private and public-sector, which is headlined by the Hon. July Moyo, Minister, Ministry of Local Government Public Works and National Housing who will deliver the keynote address. From the private sector, we have the pension funds, developers and leading regional thought leaders presenting and engaging with one another in high-level panel discussions at this year’s event,” said Rusin.  

According to one of Africa’s top emerging economists, Neville Mandimika of Rand Merchant Bank (RMB), the markets have been buoyed by the recent developments in the country. Noted for his strong opinions on Africa’s markets, his presentation is titled ‘Opening Zimbabwe’s doors to the world’ and will focus on what needs to be done to increase the flow of capital into Zimbabwe.  “We estimate that approximately $400 million has already flowed into the country since the changeover, but there are billions waiting at the gate.”

With his finger on the pulse of Africa’s emerging markets and investor sentiment; Mandimika believes that the elections still hold the key to unlocking international capital for investment. “The appetite is there, but what investors want to see is how, not who wins the election, but how they are won,” he said.  

His sentiments are shared by Rusin. “We host multiple conferences each year, and Zimbabwe’s investment stock has risen dramatically in the eyes of the big funds targeting Africa, who use our events to investigate each market’s attractiveness.”

While, much of the capital remains at the proverbial border post; the market’s growing confidence is visible in the number of initiatives planned by the local pension funds, emerging residential developments and new retail centres such as the new Village Walk Centre in Harare.

While clear election results are likely to increase to market liquidity and grease the levers of development and commerce, for Mandimika another critical topic for discussion is the need for clarity on monetary policy. “We need to establish if we are going to continue using bond notes and reestablish the local dollar or will we join the common monetary union, which links Namibia, Lesotho, South African and Swaziland into a union.” While, joining the local union is one option, Mandimika believes that it is unlikely that Zimbabwe will follow this course and believes that are likely to see a few more years of bond notes before any changes are adopted.

The policies enacted in the medium to long term are particularly poignant for Mandimika as he is a member of the highly skilled diaspora. “If there is certainty round policy for the next couple of years, I think a lot of us would consider returning home and also investing in the short-term.” With millions of Zimbabweans living in South Africa, Europe and the Americas, the influx of capital and skill could be a major benefit for the growth of the economy he added.  

While Mandimika’s focus is strategising how the market will encourage capital inflows, he will also reveal bespoke indicators designed to approximate what the implied exchange rate for the bond note actually is. “Normally a change in government leadership often results in big currency moves (Angola and South Africa are recent examples); however, under a multi-currency regime this is difficult to ascertain. I will be presenting a new approach to approximate how big the political change over was and the scenarios for the upcoming elections,” he said.  

“We’re excited to have Neville present at the conference, not only as one of Africa’s top emerging African economists, but also someone who is Zimbabwean and who has a regional and local perspective to offer the market,” added Rusin.

ENDS
_________________________________________________________________________

About API Events
ZimReal is one of nine annual conferences hosted by API Events, including, the East African Property Investment (EAPI) Summit (Kenya), West Africa Property Investment (WAPI) Summit (Nigeria), Africa Property Investment Summit and Expo (South Africa), the FrancoReal Property Investment Summit (Senegal), the ZamReal Property Forum (Zambia), Botsreal Property & Infrastructure Forum (Botswana), and the ZimReal Property Investment Forum (Zimbabwe)  

API Events deliver Africa’s most renowned events in real estate investment and development. Our events across the continent have become the ultimate meeting places for Africa’s property market to learn, network and most importantly to do deals.

The company also hosts the API Awards – these prestigious awards provide a platform for distinguished developers, suppliers and owners in the African real estate industry, to showcase their best projects and services. Other services provided by API Events include training programmes and the recently launched African Property Skyline magazine. For more information, you can visit: www.apievents.com

Issued by:  
Contact: Murray Anderson
Phone: +27 11 250 2260 | +27 71 890 77 39
Email: murray@apievents.com

For Media Inquiries:
Princess Tlou
Phone: +27 11 250 2260 | +27 076 932 8447  
Princess@apievents.com