8th Africa Property Investment Summit to kick off Thursday

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Rituparna Kakati | 24 Aug, 2017
The 8th annual Africa Property Investment (API) Summit & Expo is to begin on Thursday at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa.

How South African companies manage to do this will be one of the topics in the spotlight at the 8th annual Africa Property Investment (API) Summit & Expo , taking place on Thursday 24th and Friday 25th August 2017, said API.

One of the core focus discussions will be on managing project delivery risk in Africa.

While emerging African markets are filled with long-term growth and investment opportunities, conventional insurers and financiers remain hesitant about covering local property stakeholders wanting to do business in African markets.

Mandisi Nkuhlu, COO of the Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa (ECIC), believes the reliability of the income stream, on a project, is one of the most notable challenges property financiers and investors must deal with.

Nkuhlu says, "In financing a property transaction, for instance a mall or office space, it is important to get a reliable anchor tenant who is willing and able to commit to a long-term lease."

Whilst there is a strong market practice on the continent of paying large up-front lease payments, the reliability of the income stream over the debt repayment period and contractual lock-in arrangements remain crucial, he added.

The financing tends to be provided in hard currency, whereas the tenants may be generating local revenue streams, so the currency mismatch is one of the risks that have to be mitigated, Nkuhlu said

As the African property landscape shifts and investors and developers increase their focus on delivering projects on time and within budget, Nkuhlu believes there is a growing need for proper planning around managing in-country and Africa specific risk.

This discussion will see participation from over 35 countries, with 600 delegates and 250 companies attending, offering a programme aimed at providing a wide range of key insights and infinite networking opportunities.

Commenting on the importance of this discussion Kfir Rusin, Managing Director for API Events says, "Hosting a discussion around managing project delivery risk in Africa and sharing on the ground experiences, knowledge and risk mitigating tactics from companies like ECIC is of utmost importance and will help in ensuring better project delivery for all African property stakeholders going forward."