Acumen Beltone, a joint venture between investment banks Beltone Private Equity and Acumen Asset Management, is mandate to run Housing and Development Bank (HDB)'s first real estate fund. The fund is with an initial capital worth 500 million Egyptian pounds ($30.4 million), said Rana Adawi, Chairperson of Acumen Asset Management. Adawi added that the company is discussing with market regulator, the Egyptian Financial Supervisory Authority (EFSA), at the request of the HDB, modifications to some of the controls in the executive regulations of the capital market. This includes the regulating rules of real estate fund work, such as the percentage of capital the fund can put in one company or sector as compared to its total capital. Acumen Beltone hopes to decide on these points with the EFSA and obtain the licence for issuing the fund within six months in order to begin the promotion plan, she added. The controls of real estate funds stipulate that 70 percent of the fund's money in real estate assets must be invested in making revenue, and the fund's ownership in real estate development companies shall not exceed 20 percent of its assets. In 2013, Beltone Private Equity, affiliated to Belton Financial Holding and Acumen Asset Management have established a joint venture Acumen Beltone that aims to invest in the Egyptian real estate sector.
