Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola; Mallam Mounir Haliru Gwarzo, Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission; Dr. Babatunde Fowler, Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service; are among public and private sector experts expected at the maiden edition of its Real Estate Investment (REIT) Conference hosted by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday, May 23, 2017.
Other expected to grace the conference with the theme: “Real Estate Investment Trust in sub-Sahara Africa: The role of The Capital Market,” are: Prof Charles Inyangete, chief executive of the Nigerian Mortgage Refinancing Company; and Ahmed Lawan Kuru, Managing Director, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).
The conference will also provide participants an opportunity to listen and engage key industry experts, key regulators, renowned international and local market operators and thought leaders in the Real Estate sector.
They include: Ehimeme Ohioma, Head Investment Supervision, PENCOM; Jalo–Waziri, Executive Director, Capital Markets of the Exchange; Tinuade Awe, General Counsel & Head Regulation of the NSE; Kenneth Masika, Chief Executive Officer STANLIB Fahari I-REIT, Nairobi, Kenya; Olumayowa Ogunwemimo, Managing Director, FSDH Asset Management; Adeniyi Adeleye Head, Real Estate Finance (West Africa) for the Standard Bank; Taiwo Oyedele Partner, PwC West Africa Tax Leader; Yinka Edu, Partner, Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie; and Tolu Sokenu, Investment Principal, Actis.
Hakeem Ogunniran, Managing Director/Chief Executive, UPDC PLC; Aishetu Dozie, Head Investment Banking Division, Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria; Kola Ashiru-Balogun, Managing Director, MIXTA Nigeria; Tola Akinhanmi, Real Estate Debt Structuring and Advisory Stanbic IBTC Capital.
REITs are investment vehicles that can be traded on a stock exchange and are primarily involved in investing and owning income-generating real estate assets. They allow both small and large investors to invest in portfolios of large-scale properties without actually having to go through the rigors of buying or financing property.
The event which holds at the NSE Event Centre, Stock Exchange House 2/4, Customs Street, Marina, Lagos, is “expected to bring together key decision-makers, policy-makers, government officials, private sector players, property developers, asset managers, dealing members, investors and thought leaders to share experiences and explore growth potentials and opportunities inherent in the REITs market in Nigeria and Sub – Sahara Africa.”
Interested participants, are expected to register online for the non-fee paying conference at http://www.nse.com.ng/NSE-REITs-Conference, the NSE said in a statement on Monday.
Commenting, Haruna Jalo-Waziri, said the REIT Conference is an important meeting of stakeholders to dimension the current state of the Real Estate sector and to be acquainted with relevant emerging trends, strategies and policies.
“One of our aims with the Conference is to discuss tropical and regulatory issues affecting the REITs within the Capital markets and Real Estate ecosystem as well as proffer strategic solutions for follow up implementation by The Exchange in its capital market advocacy role”.
He assured that “attendees at this conference will be apprised with the latest developments driving investment decisions in the real estate industry. Thus, increasing investor knowledge that can accelerate the unlocking of the huge potential and wealth creation capabilities in the Real Estate value chain.”
The conference is sponsored by Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, FSDH Asset Management Limited, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), United Property Development Company (UPDC) Plc, Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) Nigeria Limited, Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie and Mixta Nigeria.
In 2007, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued the first set of guidelines for the registration and issuance of requirements for the operation of REITs in Nigeria as detailed in the Investment and Securities Act (ISA). This has led to the listing of three REITs companies with a market capitalization of about N40bn as of May 10, 2017.
One REITs offer is about to be concluded and should be listed on the NSE.