Hussein Shobokshi, chairperson of Naeem Holding for Investment, said that the company is currently working on establishing a fructose factory in Egypt, as an alternative to sugar, adding that the investments for the factory amount to $180m. He expected construction to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2018. He pointed out that the current investments of the company exceed $300m, adding that Naeem aims to launch new investment tools in 2017 and 2018 in Egypt and in the Gulf countries. Shobokshi said that Naeem is looking into dual listing of local investment funds in the capital market in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), next to channelling some investments into medium-term projects that can create jobs on the local market and fill the demand on strategic commodities. He pointed out that Egypt is on the verge of a boom in the real estate sector, stressing that the country is not heading towards a real estate bubble, which supports the attractiveness of investing in Naeem Real Estate Fund for individuals and institutions alike. He noted that the supply and demand mechanism will remain the main driver of real estate prices in Egypt, expecting the Egyptian market to see good demand on all real estate products. In general, Shobokshi stressed his confidence in the strength of the Egyptian market, saying that Egypt is very attractive to foreign investments, which prompted his company to continue injecting funds into several sectors in Egypt. On a different note, he said that choosing to lease high-value administrative and commercial units is the company's line of defence against the inflationary pressures associated with the development work caused by the high cost of construction, next to the risks of promoting these units. Naeem Holding CEO Youssef Al-Far said that the company intends to list the real estate fund securities on the Egyptian Exchange and begin trading on it in the second quarter of the current year, adding that subscription will begin within days. On the side of the promotional plan for the offering, he said that promoting is ongoing, where companies and institutions in Egypt, Kuwait and the UAE have covered the targeted first tranche of EGP 1bn, noting that most of the companies were insurance companies. He pointed out that the individuals-oriented offering will be posed within one month. He predicted that the initial public offering (IPO) will see demand as well, fuelled by the expected demand from individual investors, especially as the fund allows for minimum investments of EGP 50,000, which is little compared to other real estate investment funds.
