Financial services group UAP Holdings is set to invest US$ 50m (Sh4.3bn) in a real estate project in Kigali, Rwanda, as it seeks to grow earnings from the booming regional property sector.
UAP’s chief executive Dominic Kiarie confirmed the reports and said that they aim at building residential and commercial properties on the acquired prime piece of land.
UAP expects to raise US$ 22m (Sh2bn) through a corporate bond, and part of the cash could be used to fund the property development, among other investments. This is the latest real estate venture by UAP, which has stepped up its property portfolio to earn higher returns and diversify away from quoted equities and fixed income investments.
UAP says it is also expanding in the insurance business, with the company entering the Tanzanian market last year through a 60 per cent stake acquisition in Century Insurance.
They are set to complete the 31-storey UAP Towers in Nairobi’s Upper Hill in August 2015. UAP will relocate its headquarters to the new building and lease out part of the total 350,000 square feet.
