DEVELOPERS' SEMINAR AT AFRICAN REGENT HOTEL

Ghana Home Loans has held its annual Developers Seminar at the Africa Regent Hotel. The annual seminar which brought together over 100 real estate developers across the country was also attended by representatives from Shelter Afrique, a Nairobi based pan-African housing finance company owned by the African Development Bank.

Speaking at the seminar, the Chief Operating Officer of Ghana Home Loans, Kojo Addo-Kufuor presented an overview of the company indicating that although the year 2012 started on a shaky political and economic note, Ghana Home Loans has managed to disburse over $95mm in mortgages to over 1,300 clients across the country since its inception in 2006. In his presentation, Mr. Addo-Kufuor added that Ghana Home Loans is very passionate about its ambition to make the dream of the average Ghanaian to own their dream a reality. This ambition according to him has translated in the company’s ability to marshal over $120mm in long-term funding ranging from 10-20 years. Adding that, the company could not have achieved this without the support of real estate developers and other players in the building industry. Ghana Home Loans is proud of strong bilateral link it has with all active real estate developers and hope that this will be reciprocated for the mutual benefit of all, he added.

Mr. Kojo Addo-Kufuor also highlighted the increased growth in residential properties from private vendors from the year 2010 to 2012 as one of the major contributors in bringing in business to the company. He allotted this to the fact that prospective home-buyers were in search of readily available properties which developers are unable to supply due to lack of funding. He charged developers to take advantage of institutions such as Shelter Afrique to access long-term construction funding and also commit themselves to delivering properties on time and to the required specifications.

Mr. Ellis Atekpe, the Head of Mortgages, also gave insight into Ghana Home Loans’ newest Land Purchase Mortgage. He explained the nature of the product as one specifically designed to meet the changing needs of applicants who wish to acquire serviced plots for residential purposes. The two-in-one nature of the product allows prospective applicants to access a construction loan from Ghana Home Loans to build their dream house.

A representative from the Business Development Department of Shelter Afrique, Mr. Zachary Munene also touched on how developers can access construction funding from the institution. Mr. Munene said the company has approved over $600mm in 44 African countries for both residential real estate development and related infrastructure.

The seminar was culminated with the presentation of special awards to Devtraco Limited, Dream Homes Ghana and Mayfair Estate Limited for their business to Ghana Home Loans for the year 2012.

DEG FINANCES GHANA HOME LOANS

12^th October 2012, Accra: Today, DEG - Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG), signed an agreement to provide a US$10 million senior loan to Ghana Home Loans (GHL), Ghana's leading mortgage financing company. DEG's senior loan will contribute to the growth of GHL's origination capacity and thereby increase access to mortgage financing by individuals and households in Ghana. Andreas Voss, DEG's Regional Director, said "A key goal in Ghana's policy-making is to encourage the growth of the formal private sector to mobilize capital for development and increase of housing stock. The lack of adequate mortgage financing has created gaps in the housing sector in Ghana. GHL estimates that the potential mortgage demand based on households without homes, but can afford to acquire one, is close to $2 billion. DEG's financing will contribute to meeting this demand gap. Ghana Home Loans has exhibited a tremendous track record as an institution committed to the housing sector in Ghana, not only through the provision of financing opportunities, but also educating consumers on mortgages through its weekly mortgage clinics, and holding periodic sessions to bring Real Estate developers and potential Homeowners together."

Dominic Adu, CEO of Ghana Home Loans, said "we are exceedingly pleased to have DEG support our operations and our vision of making home ownership easier and a reality for low to middle income earners. This $10m facility should lead to over 300 households and potentially 1,500 people being proud owners of their homes. We look forward to a mutually rewarding relationship in solving the housing problems that beset the many decent and hardworking people of Ghana".

About Ghana Home Loans : Ghana Home Loans is the market leader in mortgages and the only specialist home finance company in Ghana. Established in 2006 by three Ghanaian promoters and a team of world class financial institutions, the company has already provided financing to over 1,500 households totaling $90m for the acquisition, construction and improvement of homes across Ghana. In recognition of this, it was awarded the 5th place in Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC) Club 100 of prestigious and leading companies in Ghana.

About DEG : DEG, a subsidiary of KfW, is one of the largest European development finance institutions for long-term project financing. For 50 years, DEG has been financing and structuring the investments of private companies in developing and transition countries. DEG invests in profitable projects that contribute to sustainable development in all sectors of the economy, from agriculture to infrastructure and manufacturing to services with special emphasis on exported oriented and employment generating projects which are environment friendly. DEG also focuses on investments in the financial sector in order to facilitate reliable access to capital. To date, DEG has worked together with more than 1,700 companies with financing commitments of more than EUR 13 billion and has a staff of 457 spread over 13 regional offices and supported by around 70 KfW offices worldwide.