Investment Company STANLIB has extended the period in which investors may apply for the STANLIB Fahari I-REIT shares from November 12 to 18 this year. The extension will give more time to both corporate and retail investors to buy into the region’s first property income fund.
STANLIB’s Fahari I-REIT CEO Anton Borkum said being the first in the market meant that the mnagement had to carry awareness for in a short period. “We have had multiple meetings with investors and have found the need to extend the offer period,” he said. “The decision follows a number of requests from corporate investors to consult and prepare their applications for subscription.”
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The listing date for the I-REIT on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) will now be 26 November 2015. The STANLIB Fahari I-REIT allows investors to own a slice of Kenya’s lucrative real estate segment and will be listed on the NSE under the recently launched Real Estate Market Segment.
An I-REIT is a collective investment vehicle that allows investors to pool capital, which is then invested in a portfolio of selected properties for a return. Investors gain through capital appreciation and rental income, with the latter being distributed to unit-holders annually. The I-REIT is a tax efficient vehicle, in that the income earned by the I-REIT is not taxable.
Among the investors who have committed to invest in the STANLIB Fahari I-REIT is the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The organisation, which is the private sector lending wing of the World Bank, has undertaken to subscribe for up to $15 million worth of units being sold through the IPO.
“The successful establishment of REITs as a liquid financial instrument used to gain exposure to Kenyan real estate will help unlock significant capital resources to fund Kenya’s real estate gaps,” IFC said in a note disclosing the investment.
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