Sixth of October for Development and Investment (SODIC)'s board is scheduled to discuss the company's estimated budget for 2018 and for "private sector partnership" projects planned for acquiring land offered by the New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA), according to Magued Sherif, CEO of SODIC. Sherif told Daily News Egypt that SODIC has set a plan to define the revenues distribution policy for the next five years and will discuss it at a board meeting on Monday. "If the revenue distribution plan is adopted, it will be implemented in 2018," said Sherif. "SODIC registered a net profit of EGP 507m for the first nine months of the current year, up 98% from the same period last year." Sherif pointed out that the company sold the first offered units in its "SODIC East" project, which is being developed in partnership with Heliopolis for Housing and Development (HHD) on a total area of 655 acres. According to the contract between SODIC and HHD, SODIC receives 70% of the revenues of the residential units, while HHD receives the remaining 30% of revenues. According to the same contract, SODIC receives 69.8% of the revenues of commercial units and retail stores in the project, compared to 30.2% for HHD. "SODIC's investments will reach EGP 3bn by the end of the current year, while its contractual sales target is EGP 5.6bn, which we are close to achieving," Sherif said. "The board will also discuss the possibility of progressing to competition in the new phase of private sector partnership projects offered by the NUCA that includes 13 plots of land in the cities of New Cairo, Sheikh Zayed, Sixth of October, and South Marina.He added that the company is studying opportunities for expansion in the real estate sector, whether in all governorates of Egypt or a number of Arab and African countries, but no final decision has been made. He noted that the company is familiar with the real estate market and its needs the timing for expansion and launching new investments to be right. He pointed out that real estate prices in the Egyptian market have witnessed significant increases due to the devaluation of the local currency against the dollar and the lack of keeping pace with the income levels of those increases. Sherif predicted the stability of selling prices to suit citizens' income within a period of two to three years. He was optimistic about sales in the sector in the coming year due to the expected decline in interest rates and the availability of cash flows stored in savings vessels, whether Suez Canal certificates or other high-yield certificates, which will be redirected to the real estate sector.
