NAIROBI, MARCH 22,20223,
Lands, Public Works, Housing, and Urban Development Cabinet Secretary Zachariah Njeru today joined President William Ruto to preside over the listing of LAPTRUST IMARA I-REIT on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
Speaking while presiding over the bell ringing ceremony, President Ruto said the listing signifies the evolution of Kenya’s capital markets which has shown resilience in the face of challenges facing global financial markets.
CS Njeru said the Local Authorities Pension Trust (LAPTRUST) Imara Income Real Estate Investment Trust mark an important milestone of trading on the NSE.
He noted that the private sector investment in affordable housing is return driven and can be supported by capital market instruments like real estate investment trusts and green bonds to access required liquidity.
“We have also engaged local pension funds to participate in the Affordable Housing Program to help unlock value from their illiquid land assets, and through the program and the capital markets they can convert underutilized land into profitable cash-generating developments,” said the CS.
He said partnering with private sector has become an attractive investment opportunity and the Government will continue encouraging the model through the provision of land countrywide, tax incentives such as VAT exemptions and the aggregation and financing of buyers via the Boma Yangu platform and the Kenya Mortgage Refinance Company (KMRC).
The Affordable Housing Program is designed to provide decent, accessible yet affordable housing for all Kenyans especially those living in informal settlements. The CS said the Government has made tremendous progress in the achievement of the 200,000 affordable housing units annually.
“Government recognizes that the real estate investment trust (REIT) structure is an ideal fit not only to raise considerable finances for development but also to support the rent-to-own homeownership model for Kenyans at long-term affordable rates,” said the CS.
The CS noted that the REIT structure is also suitable for the financing and delivery of much-needed affordable student housing for our universities countrywide and institutional housing for our police and defense forces.
Also present during the event was Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning Professor Njuguna Ndung’u, Principal Secretary for Housing and Urban Development Charles Hinga, among others.